Bill Text: IL HJR0103 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: With respect to the amendment to the Bill of Rights Article of the Illinois Constitution proposed by House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 1 (which expands certain rights already granted to crime victims in Illinois, and give crime victims the ability to enforce their rights in a court of law), sets forth a brief explanation of the proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief argument against the amendment, and the form in which the amendment will appear on the ballot.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-05-30 - Adopted Both Houses [HJR0103 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HJR0103-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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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
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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
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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:
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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 :
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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.
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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.
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9 | (3) (2) The right to timely notification of all court | ||||||
10 | proceedings.
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11 | (4) (3) The right to communicate with the prosecution.
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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 .
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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.
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20 | (7) (6) The right to timely disposition of the case | ||||||
21 | following the arrest of the accused.
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22 | (8) (7) The right to be reasonably protected from the | ||||||
23 | accused throughout
the criminal justice process.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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10 | (12) (10) The right to restitution.
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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
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20 | Section .
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21 | (c) The General Assembly may provide for an assessment | ||||||
22 | against convicted
defendants to pay for crime victims' rights.
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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 |
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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
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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:
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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:
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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.
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11 | EXPLANATION
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12 | The Constitution sets forth substantial rights for crime | ||||||
13 | victims. The proposed amendment expands certain current | ||||||
14 | rights:
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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 |
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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.
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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.
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23 | The proposed amendment would not alter the powers, duties | ||||||
24 | or responsibilities of the prosecutor. Further, a criminal |
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1 | defendant would not be able to challenge his or her conviction | ||||||
2 | on the basis of a failure to follow these provisions.
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3 | Arguments in Favor of the Proposed Amendment
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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.
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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.
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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 |
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1 | to keep the victim informed of developments in the case, and to | ||||||
2 | allow the victim to participate when appropriate.
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3 | Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1 | FORM OF BALLOT | ||||||
2 | Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
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3 | Explanation of Amendment
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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.
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11 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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12 | YES For the proposed amendment
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13 | ---------- of Section 8.1 of Article I
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14 | NO of the Illinois Constitution.
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15 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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