Page:House Select Committee on Assassinations, final report.pdf/36

 trial as it applies to both the investigation and prosecution of federally cognizable homicides

2 The Judiciary Committee should examine recently passed special prosecutor legislation to determine if its provisions should be modified to extend them to Presidential assassinations and the circumstances if any under which they should be applicable to other federally cognizable homicides

II Administrative recommendations to the Executive

The Department of Justice should reexamine its contingency plans for the handling of assassinations and federally cognizable homicides in light of the record and findings of the committee Such an examination should consider the following issues:

A. Insuring that its response takes full advantage of inter and intra-agency task forces and the strike force approach to investigations and prosecutions

B. Insuring that its response takes full advantage of the advances of science and technology and determining when it should secure independent panels of scientists to review or perform necessary scientific tasks or secure qualified independent forensic pathologists to per form a forensic autopsy

C. Insuring that its fair trial/free press guidelines consistent with an alleged offender's right to a fair trial allow information about the facts and circumstances surrounding an assassination promptly be made public and promptly be corrected when erroneous information is mistakenly released. and

D. Entering at the current time into negotiations with representatives of the media to secure voluntary agreements providing that photographs audio tapes television tapes and related matters made in and around the site of assassinations be made available to the Government by consent immediately following an assassination

''III. General recommendations for congressional investigations'''

A. The appropriate committees of the House should consider amending the rules of the House to provide for a right to appointive counsel in investigative hearings where a witness is unable to provide counsel from private funds.

B. The appropriate committees of the House should examine the rules of the House governing the conduct of counsel in legislative and investigative hearings and consider delineating guidelines for professional conduct and ethics including guidelines to deal with conflicts of multiple witnesses before a of interest in the representation committee.

C. The Judiciary Committee should examine the adequacy of Federal law as it provides for the production of Federal and State prisoners before legislative or investigative committees under a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum.

D. The appropriate committees of the House should examine and clarify the applicability to congressional subpenas of recently enacted legislative restrictions on access to records and other documents.

E. The appropriate committees of the House should consider legislation that would authorize the establishment of a legislative counsel to conduct litigation on behalf of committees of the House incident to