(The Center Square) – Civil liability for judges releasing violent criminals who go on to do harm to others has been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a North Carolina congressman.
Judicial Accountability for Public Safety Act, authored by Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., was filed after Monday’s field hearing in Charlotte by the Committee on the Judiciary. Moore participated in the discussion along with a number of other congressmen and congresswomen from the state.
The hearing was held in part because of two homicides about 90 miles apart in the Carolinas.
“When judges let dangerous repeat offenders walk free despite knowing the risks, and someone gets hurt or killed, there has to be accountability,” said Moore. “We’ve seen too many cases, like the killings of Iryna Zarutska and Logan Federico, that were completely preventable if their murderers were behind bars where they belonged.
“The judicial systems in Democrat-run cities that favor criminals over victims are failing innocent Americans. This legislation is the first step to making sure judges do their jobs and put public safety first.”
Zarutska was killed on the evening of Aug. 22 shortly after she boarded a light rail train in Charlotte. Federico was killed in the early morning hours of May 3 by an intruder to a house in Columbia, S.C., where she was visiting friends at the University of South Carolina.
Moore wants a legal path for victims or their families to sue judges “when a bond or sentencing decision is made with gross negligence or intentional disregard for public safety,” he says.
“It removes judicial immunity in these limited but serious cases, allowing injured parties to seek justice through the courts,” Moore said in a release. “At the same time, the bill preserves protections for judges acting in good faith or within the scope of ordinary judicial discretion.”
Video camera evidence is available in the case involving Zarutska. DeCarlos Brown Jr. is charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial. Alexander Dickey is charged in the death of Frederico.
Brown, with a series of mental health challenges documented, had been arrested 14 times in 15 years prior to his latest charge. Dickey had 25 felony charges among 39 arrests before his latest arrest.
Republicans, from second-term President Donald Trump to federal and state levels across the country, have rallied against what they call soft on crime policies of Democrats. Democrats and their supporters say federal cuts will harm public safety and called the field hearing in Charlotte “political theater.”
