Senate to vote on controversial DC criminal code Wednesday

Senate to vote on DC Criminal Code Wednesday

The Senate plans to vote down D.C.'s newly revised criminal code. FOX 5's Chief Legal Correspondent Katie Barlow has the latest and what happens after the vote.

WASHINGTON - It's full speed ahead for the United States Senate that has scheduled a vote for Wednesday to disapprove of D.C.'s newly revised criminal code. The vote is expected to garner bipartisan support. But the vote has divided local senators.

Maryland's Democratic Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen will vote against the resolution.

"No state has to navigate the unnecessary legislative hurdles that D.C. presently finds itself facing," Senator Ben Cardin said. "I strongly support home rule for the District and will vote against the resolution of disapproval."

One-on-one with Sen. Tim Kaine

Sen. Tim Kaine joins FOX 5 to discuss the upcoming vote on DC's criminal code.

Meanwhile, Virginia's Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner will vote to disapprove of the crime bill.

"Once the mayor and the council say that the crime bill is not ready for prime time, we will not vote to approve the crime bill," Senator Kaine said. "We'll vote to reject the crime bill, and basically we're hoping that the mayor and the council will get on the same page."

Once signed by the president, it will be effective as if the council never voted to approve the new code.

The District will continue to operate under the 100-year-old criminal code. The council will then decide whether it's strategic to immediately pivot to potential amendments or wait for the debate to cool off before revisiting the hot-button issues.

One of those issues — carjacking. Under the current code, armed carjacking earns a maximum penalty of 30- or 40 years with aggravating circumstances. The new code caps the penalty at 24 years, which is still years higher than 98% of what judges dole out in sentencing. Judges on average impose 15–16 years for carjacking in D.C.

Council Chairman Mendelson discusses withdrawing DC’s criminal code bill

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson discusses withdrawing a sweeping rewrite of the capital city’s criminal code from consideration, just before a U.S. Senate vote that seemed set to overturn the measure.

Nothing in the Home Rule Act, FOX 5's Katie Barlow reports, prevents the council from resubmitting the code – in its current form or with amendments – to Congress at any time. Councilwoman Brooke Pinto, who chairs these efforts in the judiciary committee, says the crime bill is one of many priorities right now.

D.C. Politics Crime and Public Safety