Introduction Of H.R. --, The "Fair Payment Of Court Fees Act Of 2010'' -- Hon. Henry C. "Hank'' Johnson, Jr.

Floor Speech

Introduction Of H.R. --, The "Fair Payment Of Court Fees Act Of 2010'' -- Hon. Henry C. "Hank'' Johnson, Jr.

* Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. --, the Fair Payment of Court Fees Act of 2010. This legislation is vital to preserve democracy and fair access to the courts.

* It has come to my attention that provisions in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, while well intentioned to discourage abuses to the appeal process and encourage settlement, have been shown in practice to unfairly and indiscriminately punish parties for declining an offer for settlement made before trial or seeking appellant review.

* That policy quite simply goes too far, creating perverse results, and inevitably will prevent litigants from pursuing legitimate cases or appeals for fear of excessive penalties.

* Recently, there was a national outcry when a Federal court ordered the family of a fallen soldier, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Synder of Westminster, Maryland, to pay $16,000 to the people who picketed the funeral of this hero who died in service to his country in Iraq.

* You heard me correctly, the dead soldier's family was ordered to pay thousands of dollars to the people who picketed their son's funeral and who shouted ``You're going to Hell'' and ``Thank God for dead soldiers.''

* This is not adding insult to injury; this is outrageous and cannot be allowed to stand.

* The family of Matthew Synder's supposed ``fault'' was to defend the decision of the lower court when the picketers appealed.

* Preposterous and outrageous. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Courts and Competition policy, I cannot wait for the multi-year process of the Rules Enabling Act to correct this injustice. This problem must be corrected now.

* The rules, as they stand, are a blanket policy to discourage pursuit of justice through the appeals process. That policy quite simply goes too far, creating perverse results, and inevitably will prevent litigants from pursuing legitimate appeals or encourage the parties to settle when they want a court to hear the case for fear of excessive penalties.

* The bill I have introduced today will stop this travesty and open the court house doors to parties who are acting in the interest of justice.

* Specifically, the ``Fair Payment of Court Fees Act of 2010'' would amend two procedural rules to ensure access to the Federal courts. My bill would amend Rule 39 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to give a court discretion to evaluate whether the payment should be waived in the interest of justice including instances where constitutional or other important precedent are at issue.

* Strict application of the Rules has been detrimental to the public interest. So we would allow our Judges to use their discretion to determine when these fees should be waived. Our courthouse doors must remain open to pursue legitimate claims.

* I hope that my colleagues will support this legislation.

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