§ 3523. — Civil judgments.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC3523]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART II--CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 224--PROTECTION OF WITNESSES
Sec. 3523. Civil judgments
(a) If a person provided protection under this chapter is named as a
defendant in a civil cause of action arising prior to or during the
period in which the protection is provided, process in the civil
proceeding may be served upon that person or an agent designated by that
person for that purpose. The Attorney General shall make reasonable
efforts to serve a copy of the process upon the person protected at the
person's last known address. The Attorney General shall notify the
plaintiff in the action whether such process has been served. If a
judgment in such action is entered against that person the Attorney
General shall determine whether the person has made reasonable efforts
to comply with the judgment. The Attorney General shall take appropriate
steps to urge the person to comply with the judgment. If the Attorney
General determines that the person has not made reasonable efforts to
comply with the judgment, the Attorney General may, after considering
the danger to the person and upon the request of the person holding the
judgment disclose the identity and location of the person to the
plaintiff entitled to recovery pursuant to the judgment. Any such
disclosure of the identity and location of the person shall be made upon
the express condition that further disclosure by the plaintiff of such
identity or location may be made only if essential to the plaintiff's
efforts to recover under the judgment, and only to such additional
persons as is necessary to effect the recovery. Any such disclosure or
nondisclosure by the Attorney General shall not subject the United
States and its officers or employees to any civil liability.
(b)(1) Any person who holds a judgment entered by a Federal or State
court in his or her favor against a person provided protection under
this chapter may, upon a decision by the Attorney General to deny
disclosure of the current identity and location of such protected
person, bring an action against the protected person in the United
States district court in the district where the person holding the
judgment (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the
``petitioner'') resides. Such action shall be brought within one hundred
and twenty days after the petitioner requested the Attorney General to
disclose the identity and location of the protected person. The
complaint in such action shall contain statements that the petitioner
holds a valid judgment of a Federal or State court against a person
provided protection under this chapter and that the petitioner sought to
enforce the judgment by requesting the Attorney General to disclose the
identity and location of the protected person.
(2) The petitioner in an action described in paragraph (1) shall
notify the Attorney General of the action at the same time the action is
brought. The Attorney General shall appear in the action and shall
affirm or deny the statements in the complaint that the person against
whom the judgment is allegedly held is provided protection under this
chapter and that the petitioner requested the Attorney General to
disclose the identity and location of the protected person for the
purpose of enforcing the judgment.
(3) Upon a determination (A) that the petitioner holds a judgment
entered by a Federal or State court and (B) that the Attorney General
has declined to disclose to the petitioner the current identity and
location of the protected person against whom the judgment was entered,
the court shall appoint a guardian to act on behalf of the petitioner to
enforce the judgment. The clerk of the court shall forthwith furnish the
guardian with a copy of the order of appointment. The Attorney General
shall disclose to the guardian the current identity and location of the
protected person and any other information necessary to enable the
guardian to carry out his or her duties under this subsection.
(4) It is the duty of the guardian to proceed with all reasonable
diligence and dispatch to enforce the rights of the petitioner under the
judgment. The guardian shall, however, endeavor to carry out such
enforcement duties in a manner that maximizes, to the extent
practicable, the safety and security of the protected person. In no
event shall the guardian disclose the new identity or location of the
protected person without the permission of the Attorney General, except
that such disclosure may be made to a Federal or State court in order to
enforce the judgment. Any good faith disclosure made by the guardian in
the performance of his or her duties under this subsection shall not
create any civil liability against the United States or any of its
officers or employees.
(5) Upon appointment, the guardian shall have the power to perform
any act with respect to the judgment which the petitioner could perform,
including the initiation of judicial enforcement actions in any Federal
or State court or the assignment of such enforcement actions to a third
party under applicable Federal or State law. The Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure shall apply in any action brought under this subsection to
enforce a Federal or State court judgment.
(6) The costs of any action brought under this subsection with
respect to a judgment, including any enforcement action described in
paragraph (5), and the compensation to be allowed to a guardian
appointed in any such action shall be fixed by the court and shall be
apportioned among the parties as follows: the petitioner shall be
assessed in the amount the petitioner would have paid to collect on the
judgment in an action not arising under the provisions of this
subsection; the protected person shall be assessed the costs which are
normally charged to debtors in similar actions and any other costs which
are incurred as a result of an action brought under this subsection. In
the event that the costs and compensation to the guardian are not met by
the petitioner or by the protected person, the court may, in its
discretion, enter judgment against the United States for costs and fees
reasonably incurred as a result of the action brought under this
subsection.
(7) No officer or employee of the Department of Justice shall in any
way impede the efforts of a guardian appointed under this subsection to
enforce the judgment with respect to which the guardian was appointed.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a court order
to which section 3524 of this title applies.
(Added Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 1208, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat.
2157.)
References in Text
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (b)(5),
are set out in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial
Procedure.
