S3239-119

Introduced

To authorize civil actions against judges who, and other government entities that, release repeat offenders on bail, and for other purposes.

119th Congress Introduced Nov 20, 2025

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

Creates a federal civil cause of action against judges and other government entities that release certain repeat violent offenders on bail when those offenders later cause harm during release.

Who Benefits and How

People harmed by repeat violent offenders released pending trial could gain a new path to seek damages, and bail decisionmakers may face stronger incentives to avoid risky releases.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Judges and other government entities making bail decisions would face new litigation exposure, including loss of judicial immunity as a defense.

Key Provisions

  • Creates a federal civil action for harm caused by certain repeat violent offenders released on bail.
  • Eliminates judicial immunity as a defense in those actions.
  • Defines covered defendants by reference to current violent-crime charges and prior violent-crime convictions.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Creates a federal civil cause of action against judges and other government entities that release certain repeat violent offenders on bail when those offenders later cause harm during release.

Key Policy Areas

Criminal Justice, Government Operations

Primary Purpose

Creates a federal civil cause of action against judges and other government entities that release certain repeat violent offenders on bail when those offenders later cause harm during release.

Policy Domains

Criminal Justice Government Operations

Main Provisions

Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • Victims and families harmed by repeat violent offenders released pending trial
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • Judges and government entities issuing bail release orders
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Nov 20, 2025

Mr. Sheehy (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Crime Victims/Advocacy
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Victims and families harmed by repeat violent offenders released pending trial

Judiciary
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Judges and government entities making bail release decisions

1/2
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Criminal Justice Government Operations

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology