Justice & Court Reform
As the former chair and now ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, Congressman Johnson is the leading voice in the House on court reform -- particularly the Supreme Court. Even before the 6-3 right-wing supermajority took control of the court, Rep. Johnson proposed legislation to expand the Supreme Court (Judiciary Act); require that the justices follow a code of ethics, transparency, and recusal standards (SCERT Act); and establish term limits for justices (TERM Act). Rep. Johnson has also introduced legislation to ensure that employees of the federal judiciary have strong statutory rights and protections against discrimination and workplace misconduct (JAA).
For more on the Congressman’s work on court reform, please read below.
More on Justice & Court Reform
By Dean Hesse, contributor
Stone Mountain, GA — More than 100 people took part in the city of Stone Mountain's March for Social Justice June 20.
The march was organized by city of Stone Mountain Mayor Pro Tem Chakira Johnson who said, "I organized the March for Social Justice in Stone Mountain after all the turmoil in America, with the most recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks.
By Lindsey McPherson
‘In the minds of the public'
The bill also includes language from another senior Judiciary Democrat, Hank Johnson of Georgia, to limit the types of military equipment that can be transferred to local law enforcement. Johnson said he's introduced the bill every Congress since 2014 but it wasn't until the protests after Floyd's death, when police lined the streets with military-grade weapons, that "it popped up front and center in the minds of the public."
As part of the Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability on June 10, Rep. Johnson, a senior member of the Committee, highlighted the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities.
View the CSPAN video here.
Dear Friends,
Today, I'm in Washington, D.C. working to get the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 out of Judiciary Committee and to the House floor for a full vote.
Not only am I proud to be a co-sponsor of Justice in Policing, but many of my policy and legislative priorities are directly reflected in the bill – H.R. 7120 – including my Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which was cut and pasted into this bill.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Hank Johnson has proudly co-sponsored H.R. 7120, the Justice in Policing Act.
This bold, transformative legislation calls on everyone to reimagine the culture of policing in America with unprecedented reforms to curb police brutality, end racial profiling, eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement and build greater trust between law enforcement and our communities.
Congressmen introduce Bivens Bill That Would Allow Citizens Recover Damages for Constitutional Violations by Federal Law Enforcement Officials
Hank Johnson and Michael Shank
As President Donald Trump pushes for more military equipment to be rolled out to confront protesters, we need to do everything in our power to stop this before it changes the character of our country forever.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability on June 10, Rep. Johnson, a senior member of the Committee, highlighted the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities.
By Tia Mitchell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some of the initiatives found in congressional Democrats' new policing bill are proposals U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson authored years ago.
The recent willingness by Democrats, potentially some Republicans and members of the public to embrace sweeping changes in how law enforcement officers do their jobs came, in part, because of the graphic video of George Floyd's final moments.
Protests nationwide focused on the death of Floyd and other African Americans who were killed by police, and they acted as the catalyst behind Monday's unveiling of the sweeping proposal.