Susan Molinari: “I rise to support and explain an amendment in the Continuing Resolution which clarifies the effective date provision for…”

“I rise to support and explain an amendment in the Continuing Resolution which clarifies the effective date provision for Rules 413 through 415 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The immediate enactment of this amendment is necessary to prevent the reversal of the convictions of rapists and child molesters, and the supervision of relevant evidence in pending sex offense prosecutions. Congress enacted Rules 413 through 415 in the 1994 Crime Act. These rules broaden the admissibility of evidence that the defendant, in a sexual offense case, has committed offenses of the same type on the other occasions. At that time, Congress agreed to a deferred effective date provision when the rules were enacted, to accommodate procedural objections raised by opponents of the reform. Everyone understood that this would defer the application of the rules for at most 3000 days, and that they would be fully in effect after the end of that period. Under this effective date provision, the rules went into effect on July 10, 1995.”