NCJ Number
112954
Journal
Wayne Law Review Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 1-6
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Betty Jane Spencer (a victim of attempted murder and the survivor of the murders of her four sons) comments on the need to mandate crime victims' rights in a constitutional amendment both in Federal and State constitutions.
Abstract
Based on her experience in the Indiana criminal justice system, Betty Spencer advocates Federal and State constitutional mandates to ensure that crime victims have the right to be present and to be heard at all critical stages of judicial proceedings. The Federal constitutional amendment she supports is that proposed by the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime. After mandating defendants' rights in the sixth amendment, this amendment would be modified to state, 'Likewise, the victim, in every criminal prosecution shall have the right to be present and to be heard at all critical stages of judicial proceedings.' In 1987, a coalition of victims groups voted to focus their attention on State constitutional amendments rather than on statutory changes or an amendment to the sixth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. State constitutional amendments are preferred for several reasons. State constitutional amendments will grant crime victims a useful and voluntary opportunity to participate in the criminal justice system. Although 40 States have enacted victim bill of rights statutes, they lack an enforcement method. State constitutional amendments would eliminate the problem by providing victims with a constitutionally protected right of participation. Also, for equal justice, victims' rights should be constitutionally protected as are defendants' rights. 5 footnotes.