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Combating Hate Crimes: Promoting a Re- Sponsive and Responsible Role for the Federal Government

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Combating Hate Crimes: Promoting a Re- Sponsive and Responsible Role for the Federal Government S. HRG. 106±517 COMBATING HATE CRIMES: PROMOTING A RE- SPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE ROLE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON EXAMINING HOW TO PROMOTE A RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE ROLE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON COMBATING HATE CRIMES, FOCUSING ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATES IN COMBATING HATE CRIME, ANALY- SIS OF STATES' PROSECUTION OF HATE CRIMES, DEVELOPMENT OF A HATE CRIME LEGISLATION MODEL, AND EXISTING FEDERAL HATE CRIME LAW MAY 11, 1999 Serial No. J±106±25 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 64±861 CC WASHINGTON : 2000 VerDate 11-SEP-98 12:28 Jun 09, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 HATE SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman STROM THURMOND, South Carolina PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware JON KYL, Arizona HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin MIKE DEWINE, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York BOB SMITH, New Hampshire MANUS COONEY, Chief Counsel and Staff Director BRUCE A. COHEN, Minority Chief Counsel (II) VerDate 11-SEP-98 12:28 Jun 09, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 HATE SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4 C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., U.S. Senator from the State of Utah ................................ 1 Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts ...... 5 Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont ....................... 30 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Statement of Eric H. Holder, Jr., Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC ................................................................................. 7 Panel consisting of Judy Shepard, Casper, WY; Jeanine Ferris Pirro, West- chester County district attorney, White Plains, NY; Kenneth T. Brown, chief deputy and prosecuting attorney for Albany County, Laramie, WY; Robert H. Knight, director of cultural studies, Family Research Council, Washington, DC; Burt Neuborne, John Norton Pomeroy professor of law, New York University School of Law, New York, NY; and Akhil Reed Amar, professor of law, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT ......................................... 27 ALPHABETICAL LIST AND MATERIALS SUBMITTED Amar, Akhil Reed: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 47 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 49 Brown, Kenneth T.: Testimony ............................................................................... 34 Hatch, Hon. Orrin G.: Prepared statements of: Hon. Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator from the State of Oregon ..................... 4 Hon. Gordon Smith, U.S. Senator from the State of Oregon ................. 4 Holder, Eric H., Jr.: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 7 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 Knight, Robert H.: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 35 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 Neuborne, Burt: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 41 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 43 Pirro, Jeanine Ferris: Testimony ............................................................................ 32 Shepard, Judy: Testimony ...................................................................................... 27 APPENDIX ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Prepared statements of: American Civil Liberties Union ....................................................................... 55 Center for Women Policy Studies .................................................................... 58 Mrs. Catrina Durr's Law Students, Thornton Township High School, Harvey, IL ..................................................................................................... 59 Mrs. Linda Franklin's Third Period Students, Thornton Township High School, Harvey, IL ........................................................................................ 60 Timothy Lynch .................................................................................................. 60 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force ........................................................... 63 NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund ...................................................... 64 Riki Anne Witchins .......................................................................................... 73 (III) VerDate 11-SEP-98 12:28 Jun 09, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 HATE SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4 IV Page Letters from: George Deukmejian, vice chairman, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, to Senator Hatch, dated May 7, 1999 .......................................................... 74 Ronald Seigel, first vice chairperson, Michigan Citizens With Disabilities Caucus, to Senator Hatch, dated May 7, 1999 ........................................... 75 Alice Ray, president and CEO, Ripple Effects, to Senators Hatch and Leahy, dated May 7, 1999 ............................................................................ 79 Gordon J. Campbell, Victims Services, dated May 11, 1999 ......................... 80 VerDate 11-SEP-98 12:28 Jun 09, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 HATE SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4 COMBATING HATE CRIMES: PROMOTING A RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE ROLE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1999 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:19 a.m., in room SD±226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Orrin G. Hatch (chairman of the committee) presiding. Also present: Senators Specter and Kennedy. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH The CHAIRMAN. Good morning, and welcome to today's hearing. I apologize for being late, but it is one of those times where one of my major bills came up on the floor and I had to start off the debate, and so I apologize for being so late. It is good to have you here, Mr. Holder, before the committee. Mr. HOLDER. Good to see you Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Welcome to today's hearing, entitled ``Combating Hate Crimes: Promoting a Responsive and Responsible Role for the Federal Government.'' We are very pleased to have Deputy Attor- ney General Eric Holder with us today, as well as a panel of other very impressive witnesses whom I will introduce after we hear from Mr. Holder. But I want to give a special recognition and thanks to Ms. Judy Shepard, to whom I am especially grateful for appearing today. As most of you know, Ms. Shepard suffered a tragedy no mother should have to endureÐthe loss of her son to an act of brutal vio- lence. It was a small effort for me to support a resolution that passed the Senate last year condemning Matthew's murder in the strongest terms, and pledging action to bring an end to such crimes. But your appearance today, Ms. Shepard, reflects a great effort, one that will salvage from the tragedy of Matthew's death a nation- wide recognition and condemnation of the brutal manifestation of hate that prematurely ended his life and devastated your family. Today's hearing will involve facts and issues that are at once staggering and difficult. Some of our witnesses will confront us with facts that expose an ugly, bigoted and violent underside of some in our country, facts that rivet our attention and cannot help (1) VerDate 11-SEP-98 12:28 Jun 09, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 HATE SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4 2 but move us to embrace virtually any measure appearing to stem this bigotry. But the hearing will also bring us face to face with the founda- tions of our constitutional structure, namely the first principles of federalism that for more than two centuries have vested States with the primary responsibility for prosecuting crimes committed within their boundaries. Today's hearing brings us to this intersection between our well- intentioned desire to investigate, prosecute, and hopefully end these vicious crimes, and our unequivocal duty to respect the con- stitutional boundaries governing any legislative action we take. It is my expectation that at today's hearing we will also bring a com- mitment to do what Congress can do to redress these crimes. Indeed, the aim of this hearing is not merely to focus attention on the scourge of hate crime, but to consider those efforts that can most effectively be taken to stop hate crimes. Though we will hear a broad array of perspectives from our witnesses today, there is one point about which I think we can all agree, and that is that the actions constituting these hate crimes are wrong in all respects. Let me state unequivocally that as much as we condemn all crime, hate crime can be more sinister than nonhate crime. A crime committed not
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