1997-98 Academy Text Supplement

Chapter 4

History of Law: The Evolution of Victims' Rights

When someone is a victim, he or she should be at the center of the criminal justice process, not on the outside looking in. Participation in all forms of government is the essence of democracy. Victims should be guaranteed the right to participate in proceedings related to crimes committed against them. People accused of crimes have explicit constitutional rights. Ordinary citizens have a constitutional right to participate in criminal trials by serving on a jury. The press has a constitutional right to attend trials. All of this is as it should be. It is only the victims of crime who have no constitutional right to participate, and that is not the way it should be.

President William J. Clinton

Remarks at Announcement of Victims' Rights

Constitutional Amendment, June 25, 1996

The issue of federal constitutional protection of victims' rights was first raised in the landmark President's Task Force on Victims of Crime Final Report published in 1982. Its authors proposed augmenting the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to provide that ". . . the victim, in every criminal prosecution, shall have the right to be present and to be heard at all critical stages of judicial proceedings."

As of January 1998, 29 states have amended their constitutions with high percentages of voter ratification to guarantee an array of rights for victims, including notification, participation, protection and input. A handful of states applies these constitutional rights to victims of juvenile, as well as adult, offenders.

Federal Constitutional Amendment

• In April of 1996, and again in the opening session of the new Congress in January of 1997, a Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment was introduced by Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in the U.S. Senate and by Henry Hyde (R-IL) in the House of Representatives. In June of 1996, President Clinton endorsed the concept of a Federal Constitutional Amendment for Crime Victims' Rights in a special ceremony held at the White House. His moving words are quoted above.
• By June 1997, at least two different versions of the proposed federal victims' rights constitutional amendment were pending in Congress. One amendment was introduced in the U.S. Senate, and the other in the House of Representatives. As Congress continues its work on this important topic, it is expected that the language of the amendment will undergo additional review.
• The Judiciary Committees in the Senate and House of Representatives have held hearings on the federal constitutional amendment in 1997 and 1998. Attorney General Janet Reno testified to the need for constitutional rights for crime victims at hearings held in the spring and fall of 1997.
• As of June of 1998, the proposed federal Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment has undergone amendments to the 1997 proposed language and is still pending in Congress. Though some disagreement exists over the specific language of the amendment, the concept of a victims' rights constitutional amendment continues to receive strong bipartisan support in Congress, as well as support from many organizations representing national, state and local victim services, law enforcement, criminal justice, and community and institutional corrections.

For additional information about the federal constitutional amendment now pending before Congress, contact your elected representative. You may also wish to contact:

National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network

789 Sherman Street, Suite 505

Denver, Colorado 80203

Telephone: (303) 832-1552 or 1-800-529-8226

Fax: (303) 861-1265

State Constitutional Amendments

• Voters in eight states ratified constitutional amendments for victims' rights on November 5, 1996. These states include: Connecticut, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia. (1996 Victims' Rights Sourcebook: A Compilation and Comparison of Victims' Rights Legislation. (1997). Arlington, VA: National Victim Center.)
• As a result of the November elections, voters in 29 states have now adopted state-level crime victims' rights constitutional amendments. (Ibid.)
• Public support for state victims' rights constitutional amendments is very strong. According to the National Victim Center, the national average of voter support for all state victims' rights constitutional amendments is 80 percent. (Ibid.)

• The scope and strength of the provisions of the recently adopted state constitutional amendments continue to vary among states. (Ibid.)
• Generally, all the amendments provide crime victims with the rights to be notified, present, and heard at important stages of the criminal justice process. (Ibid.)

History of State Victims' Rights

Constitutional Amendments

* Passed by Constitutional Convention.