Prompted by concerns that the District has failed to protect the public fromconvicted felons, Congress is calling for a sweeping federal study of thecity’s criminal justice system.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, the North Dakota Democrat who is a member of the SenateAppropriations Committee, attached an amendment to the D.C. budget bill thatrequires the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct a comprehensivestudy of all components of the criminal justice system including lawenforcement, courts, corrections, probation, and parole. That provision isa part of the House and Senate appropriations bills and is likely to remainin the final version.
