House Unanimously Approves Hurricane Katrina Emergency Courts Legislation

A news advisory from the House Committee on the Judiciary indicates that "The House [has]approved by a 409-to-0 margin Hurricane Katrina emergency courts legislation that authorizes federal courts to conduct business outside of their statutorily-defined geographic domains during times of emergencies." Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) commented that "[t]his modest and noncontroversial legislation would permit the circuit courts, district courts, magistrates, and bankruptcy courts to conduct proceedings outside their normal territorial jurisdictions in times of emergency." H.R. 3650 now heads to the Senate for prompt consideration.

SOURCE: beSpacific