Renzi Introduces Bill to give Flagstaff U.S. District Court

Will allow Cases to be Heard Locally Instead of Miles Away in Prescott WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Rick Renzi (AZ-1) has introduced a bill, H.R.3589, to give Flagstaff its own U.S. District Court to help provide for the needs of a growing northern Arizona population. Currently there is only one U.S. District Court in northern Arizona, and it is based in Prescott. This bill will allow local cases to be heard closer to the communities that they affect, and will allow swifter justice by reducing the caseload for the Prescott court. "Since October 2001, there have been nearly 600 felony cases arising in northern Arizona," said Congressman Renzi. "Victims, witnesses, police officers, federal agents, and support personnel have had to travel hundreds of miles to Phoenix or Prescott for grand jury, pretrial, change of plea, and sentencing hearings. Holding court in Flagstaff will allow for convenience and practicality. It would serve twelve Indian reservations, including the Navajo Nation and will also be critical to the presence of the National Park Service in northern Arizona." Congressman Renzi noted that there is currently infrastructure in place in Flagstaff for a federal courthouse, and that construction and other start-up costs would be minimal. The specific need arises from the citizens of northern Arizona to have equal justice. The five northern Arizona counties encompass a vast area of 340 miles east to west, and 200 miles north to south, and more than 650,000 people live in northern Arizona. Additionally, Flagstaff is presently home to nine federal law enforcement agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Park Service.