House to vote on two bills aimed at overhauling DC's justice system.

In a joint statement, DC Officials opposed a series of Republican bills that they say take aim at Home Rule.

One of the bills would do away with cashless bail in the District. Cash bail has not been around in D.C. since the 90s, but under the Republican proposal, cash bail would be used in certain crimes like robbery and rioting.

The legislation goes further by requiring people charged with dangerous and violent offenses to be detained while they await trial.

"Cashless bail allows dangerous, violent criminals on our streets. For far too long, dangerous criminals have been allowed to roam the streets of Washington, D.C., posing a threat to the general public," Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said on the House floor. Comer who chairs the House Oversight Committee, and is an ally of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said "activist judges" are releasing criminals with only the promise that they will return to court for their trial.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton countered Comer's remarks by saying, "This bill requires detention before the period before trial based solely on a charge with no adversary hearing. That is unconstitutional."

Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto is among the D.C. officials who oppose this bill.

"It's not a solution that we need for a problem right now. We don't have this challenge in the District. We solved that gap in secure D.C. years ago," said Pinto, who chairs the Council's Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety is referring to a proposal that currently allows judges to hold people accused of certain violent crimes in custody as they await trial.

The second House bill under consideration would repeal the majority of a DC Police reform that was enacted in 2023 as part of a nationwide response to the killing of George Floyd in 2020.

The law put into place restrictions on policing tactics, including neck restraints and police chases. It also gave the public more access to body-worn camera footage while limiting when a police officer can use this video before writing their initial report.

For years, DC's Police Union has supported the Republican efforts to repeal this reform. Union President Gregg Pemberton has said this law is partly to blame for the exodus of police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). In a statement to WUSA9, Pemberton said the D.C. measure has "devastated officer morale, gutted due-process protections, and contributed to a historic exodus of experienced police personnel." He says MPD has lost more than 2,000 officers to retirement and resignation, leaving the department understaffed by more than 800 positions since the legislation was fully enacted.

Holmes Norton urged her colleagues to oppose the bill on the House floor, saying, "DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act, among other things, gave the Police Chief more authority to discipline officers for more misconduct and crimes."

On the other hand, Comer called the existing DC law "anti-police" and said getting rid of it would make the nation's capital safer. "We will also restore the integrity of and faith in the law enforcement of the District of Columbia. For example, this law stripped law enforcement officers of many tools they needed to do their duties to execute their duties safely and without fear of retribution."

In a joint statement to Congress, D.C. officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, Attorney General Brian Schwalb, and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, expressed opposition to bills targeting the District. "These bills are an affront to Home Rule and the principles of democracy and local self-governance on which this country was founded," the statement says.

The votes are expected to take place on Wednesday after 8 p.m. EST

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/house-vote-two-bills-overhauling-dc-justice-system/65-d86f7809-39cc-4b39-82e9-268922176b32?