There may not be enough judges to handle the strain a new law could put on D.C.’s judicial system.
That is one of the reasons why D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would veto an overhaul of the city’s criminal code. But the council is firing back — with plans to override her veto.
For more than a decade, work has been ongoing behind the scenes to overhaul the city’s aging criminal code, essentially changing the consequences D.C. assigns to certain crimes and how it classifies crimes.
After learning of Bowser’s plan to veto the legislation, Chair of the Committee for Public Safety Charles Allen responded he won’t let her veto stand.
The legislation is “the product of a 16-year-long effort with hard-fought compromise and consensus among the key agencies who administer our criminal justice system,” Allen said. “You couldn’t ask for a more thorough process to craft a bill that modernizes and overhauls what is consistently ranked as one of the worst criminal codes in the United States. A veto sends a message to keep the status quo.”
In a news conference Tuesday, Bowser said she planned to send a letter to the council with her concerns about the Revised Criminal Code Act, along with her veto.
“Anytime there is a policy that reduces penalties, I think it sends the wrong message,” Bowser said.
If approved by Congress, the Revised Criminal Code Act would update the more than 100-year-old criminal code. In the courts, nonviolent offenders would see shorter sentences for crimes like gun possession, and the code would allow prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for more serious violent crimes.
But critics have said it would undoubtedly mean more misdemeanor offenses would go to trial, straining the city’s judicial system.
“We’re also very concerned that the courts have the resources to keep up with the law,” Bowser said. “We’re just now seeing the courts really get going in full force post-pandemic, and what this law would suggest is that the number of trials would skyrocket,” she said.
Compounding the problem is the need for more judges at D.C. Superior Court. There are eight judicial vacancies, according to Doug Buchanan with D.C. Courts — this, after Congress approved the appointment of seven judges last month.
