DA: Criminal Justice Reform Politics

Hansen
NPTE 16

Synopsis: There are two ways to read this DA. You can say that reform coming no matter what,
just a question of mens rea, or you can read adding a mens rea clause collapses the deal
altogether. At NPTE we will be saying total collapse on treaties, surveillance and mens rea only
on ruralism.

Uniqueness
1 Criminal Justice reform coming now
a. Obama is expending PC to pass reform that would reduce prison sentences for non-
violent offenders. This is critical to Obama’s legacy because he sees bipartisan efforts
as the greatest failure of his Presidence according to a NYT interview last month.
b. He met privately with top Reps to discuss -- Speaker Ryan, Sen. Maj Leader Mitch
McConnel over the deal. He sees this as coming through with his final State of the Union
pledge, to “surprise the cynics.”
c. Curt Mills, a top political analyst suggests that it will pass now, but only because Obama
has been building PC through the past several months, resisting major legislative
actions.
d. Gallup polling from Thursday shows that Obama’s approval rating hit a 3-year high.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obamas-last-chance-to-keep-a-
promise/article/2583164?custom_click=rss

2 The White House will guarantee reform without mens rea clause now
a. Mens rea mandates that individuals need to know what they were doing was a crime in
order to prosecute white collar crimes.
b. Bob Goodlatte the chair of the House Judi Committee and Senator Orrin Hatch is
threatening to not advance legislation that doesn’t drastically expand mens rea
c. Goodlatte and Hatch are key. Goodlatte decides what legislation goes through the
House and Hatch and Lee (char senate judi committee) (both on senate judi committee
and both from Utah) can control what makes it to the floor.
d. WH staff expressed that the President would likely veto such legislation -- which is
preventing a hard backlash now because of PC built up over the past few months for
reform.
e. PC is functional now because it is focused on legislation. Reps are focusing efforts on
SC nominations, allowing the Administration to focus on meetings to progress CJR as
part of obama’s legacy.
https://medium.com/govtrack-insider/the-big-hurdle-mens-rea-that-could-derail-criminal-justice-
reform-e199b45c5455#.5b77u0ctj

Link
1 Plan reverses existing cooperation
 a. (Treaties) - Sen. Orrin Hatch gave testimony on the floor that CRPD cedes US
sovereignty to the UN. Hatch is strongly opposed to UN authority over the US and can
influence. Hatch holds influential seats on the Senate Judi Committee.
i. Major concern over CRPD. Cedes right of parents to choose to the state.
b. (Surveillance) - Bob Goodlatte sits on subcommittee’s for Internet, IP, and homeland
security. As the original sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act and argues that law
enforcement needs access to encrypted information. Plan makes him hardline against
CJR because he sees mens rea as promoting core ideology.
c. (Ruralism) - Hatch views plan as an overdetermination of states rights. Hatch co-
sponsored the Restoring the 10th Amendment Act -- Hatch opposes federal spending on
state infrastructure and believes the state should determine what lands are used for.

2 Plan is a massive expenditure of Obama’s PC

a. EG, signing the CRPD in 2009 left the Obama Administration without any PC to pass
major initiatives.
b. (Plan specific)
c. Key Republicans then feel the need to counterbalance for political posturing. Goodlatte
and Hatch are acting as spokespersons for the issue. They see it as an opportunity to
show absurdity of dems and now is key because of elections
d. Backlash on SC already terminally high -- CJR is the only place left to backlash.

Internal links
1 Reform is k2 solve DOJ overstretch -- undermines cybersecurity
a. Michael Horowitz, Inspector General for the DOJ submitted a report that stated that the
federal prison crisis and cyber threats are overstretching the department now. As costs
to run prisons increases, national security missions lose funding through tradeoff
b. DOJ manages both prisons and cybersecurity. DOJ must make decisions to fund cyber
security or prisons. Right now prisons are the number one cost. Horowitz’ report
contends that if reform isn’t passed soon, that other DOJ programs will suffer.
c. DOJ overstretch perpetuates overcrowding -- reform is the only chance to solve.
https://oig.justice.gov/challenges/2015.pdf

Impacts
1 Turns case
a. (Case specific)
b. Cyber terror is a conflict escalator. All aff impacts occur, but worse because of cyber
insecurities. Defense and infrastructure fail and data leaks harm
K2 econ - http://www.wsj.com/articles/robert-rubin-and-nicholas-turner-the-steep-cost-of-
americas-high-incarceration-rate-1419543410

2 Cyber attacks lead to nuclear war

 a. Cyber threats are an existential threat -- threaten infrastructure and are inevitable
without changes. US intel officials believe Iranian hackers took control of a NY dam
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/272563-report-us-preparing-to-publicly-blame-iran-
for-cyberattack-on-dam
b. Franz Gad, Associate Editor with EastWest Institute argues that the high alert of 1,800
warheads in the US makes decision-making vulnerable to cyber attacks. Hackers could
spoof US early warning, which would demand retaliatory strikes, or even into issuing
unauthorized launch orders

3 Prison overcrowding
a. Disease, harms hundreds of thousands.
MO
Cyber attacks inevitable without reform
https://fcw.com/articles/2016/03/09/cyber-resiliency-chowdhry.aspx

US is vulnerable
http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fpolicy%2Fcybersecurity%2F272
563-report-us-preparing-to-publicly-blame-iran-for-cyberattack-on-dam&h=iAQHZ6I75&s=1

Impacts likely and fast

http://www.cfr.org/cybersecurity/strategic-risks-ambiguity-cyberspace/p36541

Fast timeframe
www.icnnd.org/Documents/Jason_Fritz_Hacking_NC2.doc