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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Pierluisi urges U.S. Attorney General to Include Puerto Rico in Grant Program for Prosecutors and Public Defenders

WASHINGTON, DC- The Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, urged the Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, to reverse the exclusion of Puerto Rico and the other territories in the John R. Justice Grant Program, which provides funding to repay the student loan debt of prosecutors and public defenders.

Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Congressman David Scott (D-GA) all supported the Resident Commissioner’s efforts, along with Delegates Gregorio “Kilili” Camacho Sablan (CNMI), Eni F. Faleomavaega (AS), Madeleine Bordallo (GU), and Donna Christensen (USVI).

The support of Congressmen Conyers, Miller and Scott is particularly important. Conyers is the Chairman of the Committee that approved the legislation; Miller is the author of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which established the John R. Justice Grant Program; and Scott is the original sponsor of the bill to create the Program.

“Having the support of these three Congressmen shows that Puerto Rico was never meant to be excluded from this program, which will provide significant value for many public servants on the Island. There is no reason whatsoever to exclude Puerto Rico and the other territories,” Pierluisi said.

Currently, only prosecutors and public defenders from the 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply for this program.

The John R. Justice Grant Program provides funding for local, state, and federal public defenders and local and state prosecutors. To be eligible to receive funding under the Program, the public defender or prosecutor must commit to staying on as a public defender or prosecutor for a minimum of three years. The repayment of benefits may not exceed $10,000 for each fiscal year, or a total of $60,000 for each lawyer. The state is responsible for administrating these funds and giving priority to those lawyers with limited resources to repay their student loans.

“This program will greatly benefit lawyers beginning their careers and choosing to work as public servants within the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, the Legal Aid Society, and the Office of the Federal Public Defender on the Island. The U.S. Department of Justice should include Puerto Rico in this program to ensure that every community in the United States has the opportunity to recruit and retain these valuable public servants,” Pierluisi said.

“An analysis of the specific legislation authorizing the John R. Justice Grant Program supports the conclusion that the territories should be eligible for the benefits of the legislation. The Higher Education Opportunity Act itself provides no suggestion that prosecutors and public defenders residing in the territories should be excluded from the Program. To the contrary, the law that the Act amends—the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968—expressly defines “State” to mean “any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands,” reads the letter sent to Attorney General Holder.

“Indeed, the territories regularly participate in programs administered by the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, which makes the exclusion of the territories all the more puzzling,” the letter adds.

Because the deadline for application of the funds is July 27, 2010, the Resident Commissioner urged a timely response to the letter.