Chief Justice Meets With House Caucus
Group Seeks Better Relationship With Federal Judiciary

By Brent Kendall
LA Daily Journal Staff Writer
May 24, 2004


WASHINGTON - In an attempt to improve relations between Congress and the federal judiciary, a bipartisan caucus of House legislators has met with Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who has criticized lawmakers for not seeking judges' views on legislation that affects the courts.

Rehnquist met Thursday with members of the Congressional Caucus on the Judicial Branch, a group formed in December by Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Judy Biggert, R-Ill.

Schiff said the group hoped to improve communication between the two branches and restore some of the comity that existed in the past.

"There seem to be fewer lawyers in the Congress who have actually practiced law or have experience in the courts than there used to be, and a lesser appreciation of the co-equal nature of the third branch," Schiff said. "We hope to change some of the rancor that has evolved into a far better and more respectful relationship."

Schiff said he and Biggert approached Rehnquist with their idea two months ago, and the chief justice agreed readily to be the group's inaugural speaker.

In his 2003 year-end report on the federal judiciary, Rehnquist said the traditional interchange between Congress and the Judiciary broke down when lawmakers passed legislation last year that contained a controversial amendment limiting federal judges' discretion in sentencing.

The amendment also required reports to Congress when judges' sentences went below the sentencing guidelines.

Rehnquist and a number of other federal judges expressed displeasure that Congress had not asked the judiciary for its views on the provision, known as the Feeney Amendment.

Rehnquist said parts of the amendment "could appear to be an unwarranted and ill-considered effort to intimidate individual judges in the performance of their judicial duties."

"It is Congress' job to legislate; but each branch of our government has a unique perspective, and taking into account these diverse perspectives improves the process," Rehnquist said in the report.

Schiff and Biggert said Thursday's meeting with Rehnquist was an informal give-and-take session in the Capitol.

They said questions for the chief justice ranged from judicial pay and courthouse construction to sentencing, activist courts and the separation of church and state.

Lawmakers also inquired about how Congress could interact better with the Judicial Conference, the policy-making body of the federal court system, to get reaction on issues affecting the judiciary.

"It's not very often you have the opportunity to meet with the chief justice of the Supreme Court," Biggert said. "I think even members of Congress are a little bit in awe. They really took advantage of the opportunity to meet with him."

"It was a very frank and open discussion," Biggert added.

Schiff, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, said that 20 lawmakers attended the meeting.

Biggert, also a lawyer and a former clerk for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, put the number at 16, adding that some of the attendees were lawmakers who were not members of the caucus.

Several in attendance were lawyers, Biggert said, but others "didn't really know the court system" and wanted more information about how the Supreme Court and the judicial branch operated.

One suggestion made was that members of Congress should take a tour of the high court and sit in on an oral argument, Biggert said.

"One of the members wanted to know ... did [Rehnquist] think the court was becoming more activist," she said.

"I think the chief justice made it clear that decisions are always linked to previous decisions," Biggert said. "That's how it works. But he did think that maybe there ... was some movement in that [activist] direction."

She said that the Feeney Amendment came up only in a general way.

"Judges are obviously restricted in what they can discuss," Schiff said. "We're not going to talk about pending cases or argue with them about how they should decide cases, although we do get into discussions of philosophy about the Constitution and the courts.

"We're not always going to agree, as the chief justice pointed out, but an agreement is not really the goal. Understanding is.

"He was very gracious, and I think we all walked out feeling that we had gotten off to a good start."

Schiff, who first came up with the idea for the caucus, said the group hoped to have regular meetings, with visits to or from the courts.

Biggert said that the group would meet periodically with the Judicial Conference and that members also would meet with judicial associations and judges in their own states.

She said the caucus had 26 members and hoped to add more soon.