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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The 98th General Assembly of the State of Illinois
3has submitted House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment
41, a proposition to amend the Illinois Constitution, to the
5voters of Illinois at the November 2014 general election; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution Amendment Act requires
7the General Assembly to prepare a brief explanation of the
8proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment,
9a brief argument against the amendment, and the form in which
10the amendment will appear on the ballot, and also requires the
11information to be published and distributed to the electorate;
12therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
15SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposed form of Section 8.1
16of Article I shall be published as follows:
 
17
"ARTICLE I
18
BILL OF RIGHTS

 
19SECTION 8.1. CRIME VICTIMS' VICTIM'S RIGHTS.
20    (a) Crime victims, as defined by law, shall have the
21following rights as provided by law:

 

 

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1        (1) The right to be treated with fairness and respect
2    for their dignity and privacy and to be free from
3    harassment, intimidation, and abuse throughout the
4    criminal justice process.
5        (2) The right to notice and to a hearing before a court
6    ruling on a request for access to any of the victim's
7    records, information, or communications which are
8    privileged or confidential by law.
9        (3) (2) The right to timely notification of all court
10    proceedings.
11        (4) (3) The right to communicate with the prosecution.
12        (5) (4) The right to be heard at any post-arraignment
13    court proceeding in which a right of the victim is at issue
14    and any court proceeding involving a post-arraignment
15    release decision, plea, or sentencing make a statement to
16    the court at sentencing.
17        (6) (5) The right to be notified of information about
18    the conviction, the sentence, the imprisonment, and the
19    release of the accused.
20        (7) (6) The right to timely disposition of the case
21    following the arrest of the accused.
22        (8) (7) The right to be reasonably protected from the
23    accused throughout the criminal justice process.
24        (9) The right to have the safety of the victim and the
25    victim's family considered in denying or fixing the amount
26    of bail, determining whether to release the defendant, and

 

 

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1    setting conditions of release after arrest and conviction.
2        (10) (8) The right to be present at the trial and all
3    other court proceedings on the same basis as the accused,
4    unless the victim is to testify and the court determines
5    that the victim's testimony would be materially affected if
6    the victim hears other testimony at the trial.
7        (11) (9) The right to have present at all court
8    proceedings, subject to the rules of evidence, an advocate
9    and or other support person of the victim's choice.
10        (12) (10) The right to restitution.
11    (b) The victim has standing to assert the rights enumerated
12in subsection (a) in any court exercising jurisdiction over the
13case. The court shall promptly rule on a victim's request. The
14victim does not have party status. The accused does not have
15standing to assert the rights of a victim. The court shall not
16appoint an attorney for the victim under this Section. Nothing
17in this Section shall be construed to alter the powers, duties,
18and responsibilities of the prosecuting attorney The General
19Assembly may provide by law for the enforcement of this
20Section.
21    (c) The General Assembly may provide for an assessment
22against convicted defendants to pay for crime victims' rights.
23    (d) Nothing in this Section or any law enacted under this
24Section creates a cause of action in equity or at law for
25compensation, attorney's fees, or damages against the State, a
26political subdivision of the State, an officer, employee, or

 

 

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1agent of the State or of any political subdivision of the
2State, or an officer or employee of the court. or in any law
3enacted under
4    (e) Nothing in this Section or any law enacted under this
5Section shall be construed as creating (1) a basis for vacating
6a conviction or (2) a ground for any relief requested by the
7defendant appellate relief in any criminal case."; and be it
8further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a brief explanation of the proposed
10amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief
11argument against the amendment, and the form in which the
12amendment will appear on the ballot shall be published and
13distributed as follows:

 

 

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1
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
2
TO SECTION 8.1 OF ARTICLE I
3
OF THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION

 
 
 
4
That will be submitted to the voters
5
November 4, 2014

 
 
 
6
This pamphlet includes

 
7
EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
8
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT
9
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE AMENDMENT
10
FORM OF BALLOT
 

 

 

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1    To the Electors of the State of Illinois:
 
2    The purpose of a state constitution is to establish a
3structure for government and laws. There are three ways to
4initiate change to the Illinois Constitution: (1) a
5constitutional convention may propose changes to any part; (2)
6the General Assembly may propose changes to any part; or (3) a
7petition initiative may propose amendments limited to
8structural and procedural subjects contained in the
9Legislative Article. The people of Illinois must approve any
10changes to the Constitution before they become effective.
 
11
EXPLANATION

 
12    The Constitution sets forth substantial rights for crime
13victims. The proposed amendment expands certain current
14rights:
 
15    1) Victims are currently entitled to fairness and respect
16throughout the criminal justice process. The amendment would
17also provide that they shall be protected from harassment,
18intimidation and abuse.
19    2) Victims currently can make a statement to the court when
20a criminal defendant is sentenced to punishment. The amendment
21would allow a victim to be heard at any proceeding that
22involves the victim's rights, and any proceeding involving a

 

 

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1plea agreement, release of the defendant or convicted
2individual, or sentencing.
3    3) Victims may obtain information about conviction,
4sentencing, imprisonment or release. The amendment would
5require prosecutors and the court to notify victims of those
6events before they happen.
 
7    The amendment would also grant additional rights to crime
8victims:
9    1) A victim would have a right to formal notice and a
10hearing before the court rules on any request for access to the
11victim's information which is privileged or confidential
12information.
13    2) A victim would have the right to have the judge consider
14the victim's safety and the safety of his or her family before
15deciding whether to release a criminal defendant, setting the
16amount of bail to be paid before release, or setting conditions
17of release after arrest or conviction.
18    3) The victim would have the right to assert his or her
19rights in any court with jurisdiction over the criminal case,
20but would not have the same rights as the prosecutor or the
21criminal defendant and the court could not appoint an attorney
22for the victim at taxpayer expense.
 
23    The proposed amendment would not alter the powers, duties
24or responsibilities of the prosecutor. Further, a criminal

 

 

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1defendant would not be able to challenge his or her conviction
2on the basis of a failure to follow these provisions.
 
 
3
Arguments in Favor of the Proposed Amendment
 
4    Victims of violent crimes deserve stronger protections
5under the Constitution than are currently provided. Victims
6should not have to fear intimidation and harassment when they
7participate in the criminal justice process. Judges must
8consider a victim's safety when setting bail, deciding whether
9a criminal defendant should be released during his or her
10trial, or sentencing a convicted defendant.
 
11    Further, victims should also be allowed to object when a
12defendant or a defendant's attorney attempts to obtain
13information about the victim that is confidential or private,
14like the victim's mental health records or personal journals. A
15judge would still be able to require a victim to turn those
16records or communications over to the court, but the amendment
17would allow the victim to object if he or she feels that a
18privacy violation would result.
 
19    A constitutional amendment is necessary because victims
20need the ability to enforce their rights. This amendment would
21provide that judges and prosecutors have a constitutional duty

 

 

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1to keep the victim informed of developments in the case, and to
2allow the victim to participate when appropriate.
 
3
Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment

 
4    The proposed amendment would disrupt the criminal justice
5process and impede the work of prosecutors. Our criminal
6justice system tasks prosecutors, not victims, with punishing
7criminals and restoring justice after a crime is committed.
8Victims and their attorneys may attempt to take over that
9important role, second-guessing prosecutors and objecting to
10decisions made by judges.
 
11    Victims already have a right to be present and informed
12during the process, and Illinois already provides extensive
13rights to crime victims under the Rights of Crime Victims and
14Witnesses Act.
 
15    The proposed amendment threatens the rights of criminal
16defendants, both the guilty and the innocent. Our system gives
17criminal defendants the right to access information, documents
18and records that could prove their innocence; however, the
19amendment would give a victim the opportunity to prevent
20disclosure of certain materials or documents that might prove
21the defendant's innocence.
 

 

 

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1
FORM OF BALLOT

 
2
Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
3
Explanation of Amendment

 
4The proposed amendment makes changes to Section 8.1 of Article
5I of the Illinois Constitution, the Crime Victims' Bill of
6Rights. The proposed amendment would expand certain rights
7already granted to crime victims in Illinois, and give crime
8victims the ability to enforce their rights in a court of law.
9You are asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should
10become part of the Illinois Constitution.
 
11-------------------------------------------------------------
12       YES            For the proposed amendment -
13----------       of Section 8.1 of Article I
14       NO         of the Illinois Constitution.
15-------------------------------------------------------------