REHNQUIST SCOLDS CONGRESS

WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, in his year-end report on
the judiciary, faulted Congress on Thursday for turning local offenses into
federal crimes - a trend that he said has overburdened the courts.

Last year, the number of new crime cases in the federal judiciary rose 15
percent, he said - the largest increase in nearly three decades. The rise
was propelled mostly by drug and immigration cases, he added.

Whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans, Congress regularly has
created new federal crimes over the past two decades.

Amidst the "war on drugs" of the 1980s, Congress authorized federal
prosecutors to go after drug dealers and "drug kingpins." Next came
carjackers, arsonists and those who flee their duty to pay child support.
Recently, House Republicans have been pushing to make various juvenile
offenses federal crimes.

The chief justice says the federal courts should be reserved for national
matters. "The trend to federalize crimes threatens to change entirely the
nature of our federal system," Rehnquist said. "Federal courts were not
created to adjudicate local crimes, no matter how sensational or heinous
the crimes may be. State courts do, can and should handle such problems."

Rehnquist has pressed this theme during his 26 years on the Supreme Court.
In death penalty cases, he has called repeatedly for a more hands-off
approach by federal judges. When U.S. judges in California act to block the
state from imposing a death sentence, Rehnquist can be counted upon to vote
in favor of returning the matter to state officials. He also successfully
persuaded Congress in 1996 to change federal law to make it harder for
state Death Row inmates to have cases reviewed by federal judges.

Rehnquist's interventions have not been limited to capital punishment,
however. In 1995, the court, voting 5-4, struck down as unconstitutional
the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, which made it a federal crime to
possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. Texas already had such
laws, and other states could pass them, Rehnquist said in his opinion, and
Congress had no authority to make such offenses a federal crime.

In his year-end report, he urged the House Judiciary Committee to hold
hearings to set general standards for when crimes should be federalized.

Rehnquist suggested that federal jurisdiction be limited to crimes that
cross state lines or involve "high-level state or local government
corruption," which cannot be entrusted to state courts. A threshold
consideration for federalizing a crime is a "demonstrated state failure" to
handle the matter, he said.

Last year, the chief justice used his year-end report to scold Senate
Republicans for stalling on voting on President Clinton's nominees to the
federal bench. His rebuke appeared to bring results: In 1998, the Senate
confirmed 65 judges - a marked improvement from the 36 approvals in 1997
and 16 in 1996.