CONTENTS H.R. 3655 (by Mr. Fauntroy) a bill to raise the retirement age for Superior Court judges in the District of Columbia..... H.R. 3920 (by Mr. Fauntroy) a bill to authorize the D.C. Council to enact any act relating to the organization, jurisdiction, and rules of the landlord- tenant branch and the small claims and conciliation branch of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia H.R. 4146 (by Mr. McKinney) to increase the number of Superior Court judges in the District of Columbia...... H.R. 4371 (by Mr. Fauntroy) to increase the number of Superior Court judges in the District of Columbia and to provide for appointment by the Mayor of Court of Appeals and Superior Court judges in the District of Columbia, H.R. 5279 (by Mr. Fauntroy) to provide for the establishment of an independ- ent counsel under circumstances requiring the investigation and possible prosecution of alleged violations of law arising from the conduct of the H.R. 5379 (by Mr. Dymally) to modify the procedures regarding judicial serv- ice of retired judges of District of Columbia courts, and for other purposes.... Sept. 20, 1983 (subcommittee hearing on H.R. 3655 and H.R. 3920). 1-32 33-36 September 29, 1983 (Transfer of Legal and Judicial Processes). 37-126 127-187 H.R. 3655 AND H.R. 3920-RAISE RETIREMENT AGE OF JUDGES AND RE- Fauntroy, Hon. Walter E., statement King, Rufus, chairperson, D.C. Court Committee of the D.C. Bar.. Mitchell, Iverson O., III, president of the Washington Bar Association COMMUNICATIONS Clarke, Hon. David A., chairman, D.C. City Council Dymally, Hon. Mervyn M., opening statement........ Newman, Theodore R., Jr., chief judge, D.C. Court of Appeals, prepared Reid, Inez Smith, acting corporation counsel, accompanied by John Suda, principal deputy corporation counsel; William Davis, deputy of the criminal division; and Leo Gorman, member, legislation and opinions section........ Rolark, Wilhelmina J., chairperson, Committee on the Judiciary, D.C. Coun- COMMUNICATIONS MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Staff discussion draft bill..... Council members, David Clarke and Wilhelmina Rolark Moultrie, Hon. H. Carl, chief judge, D.C. Superior Court, accompanied by Specter, Hon Arlen, a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania.. 134 COMMUNICATIONS McKinney, Hon. Stewart B., ranking minority member; letter to Hon. Ronald Mitchell Iverson, Esq., president, Washington Bar Association 238 COMMUNICATIONS Harahan, Samuel F., executive director, Council for Court Excellence.. Mitchell, Iverson, Esq., president, Washington Bar Association Schneider, Pauline A., director, office of intergovernmental relations, accom- panied by Leo A. Gorman, assistant corporation counsel, D.C. Legal Counsel COMMUNICATIONS Bass, Ellen, cochair, Division IV, D.C. Bar; letter to Hon. Mervyn M. Dymally, dated June 21, 1984, with attachment Newman, Hon. Theodore R., Jr., chief judge, chairman of Joint Committee on Judicial Administration; letter to Hon. Mervyn M. Dymally, dated June 7, Excerpts from the American University Law Review on legislative history of Excerpts from D.C. Code on organization and jurisdiction of the courts.. H.R. 5379-D.C. RETIREMENT ACT OF 1984 STATEMENTS Clark, Richard W., executive assistant to chairman of D.C. council Dellums, Hon. Ronald V., prepared statement with attachments Newman, Chief Judge Theodore R., Jr., chairman, Joint Committee on Judi- 319 Turner, John A., Jr., president, Washington Bar Association; letter to Hon. 342 MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD H.R. 3655 AND H.R. 3920-MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUDGES FROM 70 TO 74 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1983 HOUSE OF RepresentatiVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY AND EDUCATION, COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9 a.m., in room 1310, Longworth Building, Hon. Mervyn M. Dymally (chairman) presiding. Members present: Representative Dymally, Delegate Fauntroy, Representatives Bliley and Barnes. Also present: Edward C. Sylvester, Jr., staff director; Johnny Barnes and Donald Temple, staff counsels; Donn Davis, senior legislative associate; Adonis Hoffman, staff assistant; Ronald Hamm and Karan Ramos Bates, minority staff assistants. Mr. DYMALLY. The Subcommittee on Judiciary and Education of the District of Columbia Committee is hereby called to order. Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to appear before the Subcommittee on Judiciary and Education this morning. Your testimony will be essential in our effort to better understand the amendments proposed in the two bills before us. The first bill, H.R. 3655, would amend the D.C. Code to increase the mandatory retirement age of local judges from 70 to 74. Clearly, decisions regarding retirement ages generally involve very sensitive discussions. As such, I look forward to today's testimony on this proposal. The second bill before the subcommittee is H.R. 3920. This bill would authorize the District of Columbia Council to enact any act relating to the organization, jurisdiction, and rules of the landlord tenant branch and the small claims and conciliation branches of the District's Superior Court. This legislation basically constitutes a piecemeal transfer of authority over the courts from the U.S. Congress to the District Council. On its face, against a backdrop of self-government for the citizens of the District of Columbia, this legislation appears to be a step in the proper direction. The court's calendar includes no federally connected legal or constitutional claims or issues. Hence, absent Federal interest, there is no basis for Congress to continue in its control and domination of the local court system. Nevertheless, the |