SEPTEMBER 8, 1955. Hon. HARLEY M. KILGORE, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice concerning the bill (S. 903) to protect the right to political participation. Section 594 of title 18 of the United States Code subjects to criminal penalties persons who interfere with the right of other persons to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate or Commissioner from a Territory or possession. As defined in section 591 of the same title, the term "election" does not include a primary election. Section 1 of the bill would amend section 594 so as to make the section hereafter applicable to primary elections. Section 2004 of the revised statutes, formerly set forth in section 31 of title 8 of the United States Code but now contained in section 1971 of title 42, provides that all citizens of the United States who are otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election by the people in any State, Territory, etc., shall be entitled and allowed to vote without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2 of the bill would amend this section in a number of respects. First, it would extend its scope to primary elections. Second, the phrase "previous conditions of servitude" would be omitted from the enumeration of factors which are not to form the basis of discrimination and in its place the words "religion or national origin” would be substituted. Third, a new sentence would be added to the section as follows: "The right to qualify to vote and to vote, as set forth herein, shall be deemed a right within the meaning of, and protected by, the provisions of title 18, United States Code, section 242, as amended, section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (8 U. S. C. 43), and other applicable provisions of law." Section 242 of title 18 imposes criminal penalties upon anyone who, under color of law, willfully subjects any inhabitant of any State, Territory or district to the deprivations of any rights protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Section 1979 of the Revised Status (now 42 U. S. C. 1983) provides for civil liability under similar circumstances. Section 3 of the bill would provide that any persons violating the provisions of the first section shall be subject to suit by the party injured, or by his estate, in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for damages or preventive or declaratory or other relief. The section further would provide that the Attorney General may enforce the provisions of the act in the United States district courts, as defined therein. It would also provide that the district courts will have jurisdiction concurrently with State and Territorial courts. Section 4 of the bill is a customary serverability clause. The purpose of this bill, as stated in its title, is to protect the right to political participation. This purpose is a laudable one with which the Department of Justice is in full accord. Whether this particular measure should be enacted constitutes a question of policy concerning which the Department of Justice prefers to make no recommendation. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely, WILLIAM P. ROGERS, Deputy Attorney General. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW In compliance with subsection (4) of rule XXIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): "TITLE 18, U. S. CODE "SEC. 594. Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate. threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice P Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives, Delegates or Commissioners from the Territories and Possessions, at any general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing such candidate, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. "SEC. 2004, REVISED STATUTES (42 U. S. C. 1971) "All citizens of the United States who are otherwise [qualified] eligible by law shall be entitled to and allowed the same and equal opportunity to qualify to vote and to vote at any general, special, or primary election by the people [in] conducted in or by any State, Territory, district, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other Territorial subdivision [shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such elections] without distinction, direct or indirect, based of [of] race, color, [or previous condition of servitude] religion, or national origin; any constitution, law, custom, usage, or regulation of any State or Territory, or by or under its authority, to the contrary notwithstanding. The right to qualify to vote and to vote, as set forth herein, shall be deemed a right within the meaning of, and protected by, the provisions of title 18, United States Code, section 242, as amended, section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (42 U. S. C. 1985), and other applicable provisions of law." "In addition to the criminal penalties provided, any person or persons violating the provisions of the first section of this Act shall be subject to suit by the party injured, or by his estate, in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for damages or preventive or declaratory or other relief. The provisions of this Act shall also be enforcible by the Attorney General in suits in the district courts for preventive or declaratory or other relief. The district courts, concurrently with State and Territorial courts, shall have jurisdiction of all other proceedings under this section without regard to the sum or value of the matter in controversy. The term "district courts" includes any district court of the United States as constituted by chapter 5 of title 28, United States Code (28 Ü. S. C. 81 et seq.), and the United States court of any Territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. "If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and of the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby." [H. R. 5205, 84th Cong., 2d sess.] AN ACT TO extend to members of the Armed Forces the same protection against bodily attack as is now granted to personnel of the Coast Guard Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1114 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking out the words "man of the Coast Guard," and inserting in lieu thereof the words "member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard,". Passed the House of Representative January 16, 1956. RALPH R. ROBERTS, Clerk. [Senate subcommittee print] EXTENDING PROTECTION AGAINST BODILY ATTACK TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 5205) to extend to members of the Armed Forces the same protection against bodily attack as is now granted to personnel of the Coast Guard, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon, without amendment, and recommends that the bill do pass. PURPOSE The purpose of the proposed legislation is to extend to all members of the Armed Forces the same protection afforded to personnel of the Coast Guard 79992-565 and to certain civilian officers and employees of the United States enumerated in title 18, United States Code, section, 1114. STATEMENT Under section 1114 of title 18, certain Federal employes are granted protection against assault, manslaughter, and murder while engaged in, or on account of, the performance of official duties. Officers and employees presently pro tected include 1. Officers and enlisted men of the Coast Guard; 2. Judges of the United States; 3. United States attorneys and their assistants; 4. United States marshals and their deputies; 5. Post-office inspectors; 6. Officers and employees of United States penal and correctional institutions; 7. Secret Service personnel; 8. Customs personnel; 9. Internal-revenue personnel; 10. Immigration officers; 11. United States game wardens; 12. Bureau of Narcotics personnel; 13. Personnel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice; 14. National Park Service personnel; 15. Bureau of Land Management personnel; 16. Employees of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture; and 17. Personnel of the Indian field service of the United States. If any of these persons are killed while engaged in, or an account of, the performance of their official duties, the killer is liable to prosecution under sections 1111 and 1112 of title 18 of the United States Code. These two sections punish murder and manslaughter. Furthermore section 111 of title 18 of the United States Code punishes any who assault, resist, or impede any of the above persons while engaged in or on account of the performance of their official duties. Members of the armed services are protected by Federal criminal laws while they are within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States as defined in section 7 of title 18 of the United States Code. This includes United States military bases, installations, vessels, etc. However, the duties of members of the armed services often take them away from these places. This legislation is necessary to give these highly deserving persons complete Federal criminal-law protection. The Department of Defense recommended, and the House of Representatives approved, an amendment to this legislation which would make this protection of law available to servicemen whether or not they are in uniform. The companion Senate bill, as introduced, did not contain this amendment and the subcommittee is submitting the legislation to the full committee, leaving to the committee's determination whether such an amendment should be included. Reports on this legislation were received from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Treasury. The Department of Defense favors the enactment of this legislation. The Departments of Justice and Treasury make no comment on the advisability of enacting this legislation but raise a question as to the appropriateness of including members of the armed services in this section. They suggest that section 1114 is designed to protect law-enforcement officers exclusively. The subcommittee considered this question and concluded that members of the armed services are fully entitled to this protection, and that it is perfectly appropriate that they be included in this section. In addition, the duties of members of the armed services are often as closely related to law enforcement as many of the now protected officers and employees and certainly their duties are equally if not more valuable to the protection of the country. Attached hereto and made a part hereof are the reports of the Departments of Air Force, Justice, and Treasury, made in connection with with this legislation. THOMAS C. HENNINGS, Jr. Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your request for the views of the Department of Defense on H. R. 5205, 84th Congress, a bill to extend to uniformed members of the Armed Forces the same protection against bodily attack as is now granted to personnel of the Coast Guard. The Secretary of Defense has delegated to this Department the responsibility for expressing the views of the Department of Defense on this matter. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to extend to all members of the Armed Forces the same protection afforded to certain civilian officers and employees of the United States, and personnel of the Coast Guard, as enumerated in title 18, United States Code, section 1114. To accomplish this the bill would amend title 18, United States Code, section 1114, by substituting the words "uniformed members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard", in lieu of the words "man of the Coast Guard" as they now appear in the statute. It is the view of the Department of Defense that the protection afforded other Government personnel by sections 1111 and 1114 of title 18 United States Code, should be extended to members of the Armed Forces. However, the use of the words "uniformed members" in this bill invites the interpretation that the amended section would not be applicable to enlisted members of the Armed Forces who are performing official duties, but who are not in uniform. There is no such limitation on the protection given enlisted members of the Coast Guard under existing law, nor does it appear that the wearing of the uniform should be a necessary requisite for the protection which would be afforded under the proposed legislation. The courts have held that, to be amendable to punishment under such a statute, a killer need not know that he is killing an officer, agent, or employee of the United States (McNabb v U. S., C. C. A. Tenn. 1941, 123 F. (2d) 848; cert. den., 316 U. S. 658). It is therefore recommended that the word "uniformed" be stricken from the title of the proposed legislation, and that the word "member" be inserted in lieu of the words "uniformed members" in the fifth line of the bill. Subject to amendment in the foregoing manner, the Department of Defense would favor enactment of H. R. 5205. The Department of Defense is unable to estimate the fiscal effects of such legislation. This report has been coordinated within the Department of Defense in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice relative to the bill (H. R. 5205) to extend to uniformed members of the Armed Forces the same protection against bodily attack as is now granted to personnel of the Coast Guard. Section 1114 of title 18, United States Code, now provides that whoever kills any of certain designated officers or employees of the United States while engaged in the performance of their official duties, or on account of the performance of such duties, shall be punished as provided in sections 1111 and 1112, which relate, respectively, to murder and manslaughter. Section 111 of title 18 makes it a felony forcibly to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any of the persons designated in section 1114 while such persons are engaged in or on account of the performance of their official duties. The bill would amend section 1114 by striking from the list therein contained the words "man of the Coast Guard' and inserting in place thereof the words "uniformed members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard." Its effect would be to extend coverage of sections 1114 and 111 to all members of the Armed Forces while in uniform. The committee's attention is called to the fact that this statute which was formerly section 253 of title 18, though amended from time to time, has included within its protection only persons whose duties involve potential risks or hazards in connection with law enforcement. Coast Guard personnel appear to have been within the protection of the section by reason of their function in protecting the revenue under section 52 of title 14 of the United States Code. Another consideration is the possible effect which this enactment would have upon the workload of the Federal courts and Federal prosecutive staffs, for it may well be anticipated that numerous minor skirmishes involving members of the Armed Forces would call for the exercise of Federal prosecutive measures. Whether or not the bill should be enacted constitutes a question of policy concerning which the Department of Justice prefers to make no comment. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely, WILLIAM P. ROGERS, Deputy Attorney General. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, April 15, 1955. HON. EMANUEL CELLER, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to the request of your committee for the views of the Treasury Department on H. R. 5205, to extend to uniformed members of the Armed Forces the same protection against bodily attack as is now granted to personnel of the Coast Guard. The purpose of H. R. 5205 is to extend to uniformed members of the other Armed Forces the protection afforded officers and enlisted men of the Coast Guard by section 1114 of title 18, United States Code. Section 1114, inter alia, makes it a Federal crime to kill an officer or enlisted man of the Coast Guard, while engaged in the performance of official duties. Enactment of the bill would have the effect of also extending to members of the other Armed Forces the protection afforded by section 111 of title 18, United States Code, which makes it a Federal crime to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any person designated in section 1114 while engaged in or on account of his official duties. It would appear that the primary purpose of sections 111 and 1114 of title 18, United States Code, is to protect Federal law enforcement officers while engaged in their duties. The affording to Coast Guard personnel of the protection provided by these sections would seem to be due to the law enforcement functions performed by the Coast Guard. Whether such protection should be extended to all military personnel would appear not to be of primary concern to the Treasury Department, and for that reason no comments are submitted relative to the merits of the bill. Very truly yours, CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW DAVID W. KENDALL, In compliance with subsection (4) of rule XXIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate, certain changes in existing law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): "TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1114 "Sec. 1114. Protection of officers and employees of the United States "Whoever kills any judge of the United States, any United States attorney, any Assistant United States attorney, or any United States marshal or deputy marshal or person employed to assist such marshal or deputy marshal, any |