Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1170 - Three-Judge District Court

(House)
(Bono (R) California and 46 cosponsors)

The Administration opposes H.R. 1170 because it would unnecessarily burden the Federal judicial system.

H.R. 1170 would require applications for injunctions, based on the unconstitutionality of laws passed by State referendum, to be determined by three-judge district courts. A similar requirement was repealed by Congress in 1976 because: (1) limiting statutes and jurisdictional decisions had rendered the requirement obsolete; (2) three-judge-courts were overly-complicated to administer and had engendered complex and unnecessary litigation; and (3) three-judge-courts were an inefficient use of judicial resources and had proven to be a drain on the Federal judicial system. These reasons are as valid today as they were in 1976, and the repeal should remain in effect.