Sec. 3. Office of the Constitutional Advocate

841 words·~4 min read·/bill/113/hr/3228/ih/section-3

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

There is established within the judicial branch of the United States an Office of the Constitutional Advocate. The head of the Office is the Constitutional Advocate. The Chief Justice of the United States shall appoint the Constitutional Advocate from the list of candidates submitted under subparagraph (B). The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board shall submit to the Chief Justice a list of not less than 5 qualified candidates to serve as a Constitutional Advocate. In preparing a list described in clause (i), the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board shall select candidates the Board believes will be zealous and effective advocates in defense of civil liberties and consider each potential candidate's— litigation and other professional experience; experience with the areas of law the Constitutional Advocate is likely to encounter in the course of the Advocate's duties; and demonstrated commitment to civil liberties.

An individual may be appointed Constitutional Advocate without regard to whether the individual possesses a security clearance on the date of the appointment. A Constitutional Advocate shall be appointed for a term of 3 years and may be fired only for good cause shown, including the demonstrated inability to qualify for an adequate security clearance. There shall be no limit to the number of consecutive terms served by a Constitutional Advocate. The reappointment of a Constitutional Advocate shall be made in the same manner as appointment of a Constitutional Advocate.

If the position of Constitutional Advocate is vacant, the Chief Justice may appoint an Acting Constitutional Advocate from among the qualified employees of the Office. If there are no such qualified employees, the Chief Justice may appoint an Acting Constitutional Advocate from the most recent list of candidates provided by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board pursuant to subparagraph (B). The Acting Constitutional Advocate shall have all of the powers of a Constitutional Advocate and shall serve until a Constitutional Advocate is appointed.

The Constitutional Advocate is authorized, without regard to the civil service laws and regulations, to appoint and terminate employees of the Office. The appropriate departments, agencies, and elements of the executive branch shall cooperate with the Office, to the extent possible under existing procedures and requirements, to expeditiously provide the Constitutional Advocate and appropriate employees of the Office with the security clearances necessary to carry out the duties of the Constitutional Advocate.

The Constitutional Advocate— shall review each application to the FISA Court by the Attorney General; shall review each decision of the FISA Court, the petition review pool, or the FISA Court of Review issued after the date of the enactment of this Act and all documents and other material relevant to such decision in a complete, unredacted form; may participate in a proceeding before the petition review pool if such participation is requested by a party in such a proceeding or by the petition review pool; shall consider any request from a provider who has been served with an order, certification, or directive compelling the provider to provide assistance to the Government or to release customer information to assist that provider in a proceeding before the FISA Court or the petition review pool, including a request— to oppose the Government on behalf of the private party in such a proceeding; or to provide guidance to the private party if the private party is considering compliance with an order of the FISA Court; shall participate in a proceeding before the FISA Court if appointed to participate by the FISA Court under section 4(a) and may participate in a proceeding before the petition review pool if authorized under section 5(a); may request to participate in a proceeding before the FISA Court or the petition review pool; shall participate in such a proceeding if such request is granted; may request reconsideration of a decision of the FISA Court under section 4(b); may appeal or seek review of a decision of the FISA Court, the petition review pool, or the FISA Court of Review, as permitted by this title; and shall participate in such appeal or review.

The Constitutional Advocate shall protect individual rights by vigorously advocating before the FISA Court, the petition review pool, or the FISA Court of Review, as appropriate, in support of legal interpretations that minimize the scope of surveillance and the extent of data collection and retention. The Constitutional Advocate— may delegate to a competent outside counsel any duty or responsibility of the Constitutional Advocate with respect to participation in a matter before the FISA Court, the FISA Court of Review, or the Supreme Court of the United States; and may not delegate to outside counsel any duty or authority set out in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), (F), (H), or

(I)of paragraph (1). The FISA Court, the petition review pool, or the FISA Court of Review, as appropriate, shall order any agency, department, or entity to make available to the Constitutional Advocate, or appropriate outside counsel if utilized by the Constitutional Advocate under paragraph (3), any documents or other material necessary to carry out the duties described in paragraph (1).