Full Text of HJR0103 98th General Assembly
HJ0103 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HJ0103 | | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The 98th General Assembly of the State of Illinois | 3 | | has submitted House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment | 4 | | 1, a proposition to amend the Illinois Constitution, to the | 5 | | voters of Illinois at the November 2014 general election; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution Amendment Act requires | 7 | | the General Assembly to prepare a brief explanation of the | 8 | | proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, | 9 | | a brief argument against the amendment, and the form in which | 10 | | the amendment will appear on the ballot, and also requires the | 11 | | information to be published and distributed to the electorate; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 15 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposed form of Section 8.1 | 16 | | of Article I shall be published as follows: | 17 | | "ARTICLE I | 18 | | BILL OF RIGHTS | 19 | | SECTION 8.1. CRIME VICTIMS' VICTIM'S RIGHTS. | 20 | | (a) Crime victims, as defined by law, shall have the | 21 | | following rights as
provided by law :
|
| | | HJ0103 | - 2 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 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 |
| | | HJ0103 | - 3 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 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 | 12 | | in subsection (a) in any court exercising
jurisdiction over the | 13 | | case. The court shall promptly rule on a victim's request. The | 14 | | victim does not
have party status. The accused does not have | 15 | | standing to assert the rights of a victim. The court shall
not | 16 | | appoint an attorney for the victim under this Section. Nothing | 17 | | in this Section shall be construed to
alter the powers, duties, | 18 | | and responsibilities of the prosecuting attorney The General | 19 | | Assembly may provide by law for the enforcement of this
| 20 | | Section .
| 21 | | (c) The General Assembly may provide for an assessment | 22 | | against convicted
defendants to pay for crime victims' rights.
| 23 | | (d) Nothing in this Section or any law enacted under this | 24 | | Section creates a cause of action in equity or at law for | 25 | | compensation, attorney's fees, or damages against the State, a | 26 | | political subdivision of the State, an officer, employee, or |
| | | HJ0103 | - 4 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | agent of the State or of any political subdivision of the | 2 | | State, or an officer or employee of the court. or in any law | 3 | | enacted under | 4 | | (e) Nothing in this Section
or any law enacted under this | 5 | | Section shall be construed as creating (1) a basis for vacating | 6 | | a conviction or (2) a
ground for any relief requested by the | 7 | | defendant appellate relief in any criminal case ."; and be it | 8 | | further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a brief explanation of the proposed | 10 | | amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief | 11 | | argument against the amendment, and the form in which the | 12 | | amendment will appear on the ballot shall be published and | 13 | | distributed as follows:
|
| | | HJ0103 | - 5 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 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 |
| | | HJ0103 | - 6 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | To the Electors of the State of Illinois: | 2 | | The purpose of a state constitution is to establish a | 3 | | structure for government and laws. There are three ways to | 4 | | initiate change to the Illinois Constitution: (1) a | 5 | | constitutional convention may propose changes to any part; (2) | 6 | | the General Assembly may propose changes to any part; or (3) a | 7 | | petition initiative may propose amendments limited to | 8 | | structural and procedural subjects contained in the | 9 | | Legislative Article. The people of Illinois must approve any | 10 | | changes to the Constitution before they become effective. | 11 | | EXPLANATION
| 12 | | The Constitution sets forth substantial rights for crime | 13 | | victims. The proposed amendment expands certain current | 14 | | rights: | 15 | | 1) Victims are currently entitled to fairness and respect | 16 | | throughout the criminal justice process. The amendment would | 17 | | also provide that they shall be protected from harassment, | 18 | | intimidation and abuse. | 19 | | 2) Victims currently can make a statement to the court when | 20 | | a criminal defendant is sentenced to punishment. The amendment | 21 | | would allow a victim to be heard at any proceeding that | 22 | | involves the victim's rights, and any proceeding involving a |
| | | HJ0103 | - 7 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | plea agreement, release of the defendant or convicted | 2 | | individual, or sentencing. | 3 | | 3) Victims may obtain information about conviction, | 4 | | sentencing, imprisonment or release. The amendment would | 5 | | require prosecutors and the court to notify victims of those | 6 | | events before they happen. | 7 | | The amendment would also grant additional rights to crime | 8 | | victims: | 9 | | 1) A victim would have a right to formal notice and a | 10 | | hearing before the court rules on any request for access to the | 11 | | victim's information which is privileged or confidential | 12 | | information. | 13 | | 2) A victim would have the right to have the judge consider | 14 | | the victim's safety and the safety of his or her family before | 15 | | deciding whether to release a criminal defendant, setting the | 16 | | amount of bail to be paid before release, or setting conditions | 17 | | of release after arrest or conviction. | 18 | | 3) The victim would have the right to assert his or her | 19 | | rights in any court with jurisdiction over the criminal case, | 20 | | but would not have the same rights as the prosecutor or the | 21 | | criminal defendant and the court could not appoint an attorney | 22 | | for the victim at taxpayer expense. | 23 | | The proposed amendment would not alter the powers, duties | 24 | | or responsibilities of the prosecutor. Further, a criminal |
| | | HJ0103 | - 8 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | defendant would not be able to challenge his or her conviction | 2 | | on 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 | 5 | | under the Constitution than are currently provided. Victims | 6 | | should not have to fear intimidation and harassment when they | 7 | | participate in the criminal justice process. Judges must | 8 | | consider a victim's safety when setting bail, deciding whether | 9 | | a criminal defendant should be released during his or her | 10 | | trial, or sentencing a convicted defendant. | 11 | | Further, victims should also be allowed to object when a | 12 | | defendant or a defendant's attorney attempts to obtain | 13 | | information about the victim that is confidential or private, | 14 | | like the victim's mental health records or personal journals. A | 15 | | judge would still be able to require a victim to turn those | 16 | | records or communications over to the court, but the amendment | 17 | | would allow the victim to object if he or she feels that a | 18 | | privacy violation would result. | 19 | | A constitutional amendment is necessary because victims | 20 | | need the ability to enforce their rights. This amendment would | 21 | | provide that judges and prosecutors have a constitutional duty |
| | | HJ0103 | - 9 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | to keep the victim informed of developments in the case, and to | 2 | | allow the victim to participate when appropriate. | 3 | | Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment
| 4 | | The proposed amendment would disrupt the criminal justice | 5 | | process and impede the work of prosecutors. Our criminal | 6 | | justice system tasks prosecutors, not victims, with punishing | 7 | | criminals and restoring justice after a crime is committed. | 8 | | Victims and their attorneys may attempt to take over that | 9 | | important role, second-guessing prosecutors and objecting to | 10 | | decisions made by judges. | 11 | | Victims already have a right to be present and informed | 12 | | during the process, and Illinois already provides extensive | 13 | | rights to crime victims under the Rights of Crime Victims and | 14 | | Witnesses Act. | 15 | | The proposed amendment threatens the rights of criminal | 16 | | defendants, both the guilty and the innocent. Our system gives | 17 | | criminal defendants the right to access information, documents | 18 | | and records that could prove their innocence; however, the | 19 | | amendment would give a victim the opportunity to prevent | 20 | | disclosure of certain materials or documents that might prove | 21 | | the defendant's innocence. |
| | | HJ0103 | - 10 - | LRB098 21626 RLC 60448 r |
|
| 1 | | FORM OF BALLOT | 2 | | Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
| 3 | | Explanation of Amendment
| 4 | | The proposed amendment makes changes to Section 8.1 of Article | 5 | | I of the Illinois Constitution, the Crime Victims' Bill of | 6 | | Rights. The proposed amendment would expand certain rights | 7 | | already granted to crime victims in Illinois, and give crime | 8 | | victims the ability to enforce their rights in a court of law. | 9 | | You are asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should | 10 | | become 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 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
|
|