Citizen Justice Restoration Act of 2020

In general— A person, acting under color of State or Federal law, may not base, to any degree, a decision to search, seize, or scrutinize an individual on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or sex (including gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation).

Inadmissibility of evidence— Except as provided in subsection (c), evidence obtained as a result of such a search or seizure in violation of subsection (a) shall not be admissible to be offered as evidence against a defendant—

Exception— Subsection (a) does not apply in the case of a search or seizure that was motivated by reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts that include trustworthy distinguishing information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, about an individual who committed an identified crime, which information includes a particular characteristic described in subsection (a), if that distinguishing information is sufficiently specific that it does not describe a substantial subset of individuals sharing that characteristic, or of individuals of the relevant age sharing that characteristic.

Grant of habeas corpus when judgment in error— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall be granted with respect to any Federal claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings, which adjudication was in error.

New constitutional rules— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of a new rule of constitutional law announced by the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals, or the United States District Court—

Laws against discrimination— An ambiguity in a statute that provides protection against discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, or sex (including gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation) shall be construed in the manner that will provide the greatest protection against such discrimination. For purposes of this subsection, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb–1) is not a statute that provides protection against discrimination on the basis of religion.

Other laws— An ambiguity in a statute designed to provide protection for freedom of speech or of the press, or for individual informational privacy, or for the environment, or for consumers, shall be construed in the manner that will provide the greatest protection for freedom of speech or of the press, or for individual informational privacy, for the environment, or for consumers, respectively.

Constitutional avoidance— No statute described in this section shall be construed so as to avoid a constitutional question if that construction differs from the construction required under this section.

Liberal construction— Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the liberal construction of any statute not specified in this section, in order to serve its remedial purpose.

In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual may bring an action in the appropriate district court of the United States seeking damages and injunctive relief for a violation of a Federal law or regulation if the individual—

Exception— Subsection (a) does not apply in the case of a Federal law or regulation that explicitly precludes a private right of action.

In general— In any civil action brought under any citizen suit provision under a Federal law, in which the plaintiff prevails in whole or in part, the court shall award the plaintiff a bounty of $100 to be paid by the defendant against whom the plaintiff prevailed.

Multiple plaintiffs— In the case of a civil action described in subsection (a) in which there are multiple plaintiffs, the court shall divide the award under subsection (a) equally among the plaintiffs.

Joint and several liability— In the case of a civil action described in subsection (a) in which there are multiple defendants, such defendants are jointly and severally liable for the award described in subsection (a).