Ballotpedia News• "Voters in 39 states have decided 57 crime victims' rights constitutional amendments since 1982" |
Why a federal victims' rights amendment is needed.
Paul Cassell and Steve Twist, two of our nation's most prominent advocates for victims' rights, explains why the United States Constitution should be amended by adding a Victims' Rights Amendment. "Democratizing Criminal Justice Through Crime Victims' Rights," Democracy Project, NYU Law, Feb. 5, 2026.
In his keynote address for the 2025 University of the Pacific Law Review Symposium on the history of the crime victims' rights movement, Prof. Cassell makes the case for adopting a federal amendment. He writes:
Finally, the victims’ rights movement seems likely to seek—and should seek—one overarching goal: a federal victims’ rights amendment. Since first proposed by the President’s Task Force in 1982, a federal amendment has remained the movement’s greatest goal. Even though considerable progress has been made in the last several decades toward improving victims’ rights, that progress has been uneven and incomplete. As a recent analysis concluded, crime victims’ rights laws are too often underenforced, largely due to the lack of effective implementation. Issues such as “the lack of professional knowledge, the lack of enforcement mechanisms, strict eligibility criteria for compensation, existence of varying definitions of victim across jurisdictions, and the limited scope of most crime victim legislations” have all combined to “undermine the effort to protect victims successfully and achieve a global recognition of the status of victims in the criminal justice system.”
In one fell swoop, a federal constitutional amendment would not only achieve “global recognition” of victims but also respond to many of the problems that currently hamper victims’ rights efforts. As I have argued elsewhere, the values undergirding a federal amendment are “widely shared in our country, reflecting a strong consensus that victims’ rights should receive protection. Contrary to the claims that a constitutional amendment is somehow unnecessary, practical experience demonstrates that only federal constitutional protection will overcome the institutional resistance to recognizing victims’ interests.” Moreover, while some have claimed that victims’ rights do not belong in the Constitution, “in fact the Victims’ Rights Amendment addresses subjects that have long been considered entirely appropriate for constitutional treatment.
Using state constitutional amendments as models for language, it is possible to carefully draft a federal amendment in ways that protect victims’ interests in the system without harming defendants’ or other interests. Congress last held hearings on the amendment in 2013 and 2015. With the increasing success of the victims’ rights movement in advancing state constitutional
amendments, it is time for the movement to make a new push for a comprehensive federal amendment.
Tribute to former Sen. Jon Kyl
Victims advocates from throughout the nation were saddened to learn of an illness affecting former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. Sen. Kyl was a leader in advancing the rights of crime victims, including (along with deceased Senator Dianne Feinstein) his sponsorship of a bipartisan federal Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment. Several dozen advocates sent a letter to Sen. Kyl expressing their appreciation for his efforts on behalf of crime victims:
January 2, 2026
Dear Senator Kyl,
Crime victims and their advocates are united in one voice of tremendous appreciation for you and your work on their behalf.
You brought justice for victims to the American criminal justice system. Your victim's rights reforms have given dignity and fairness to victims in every state and territory across America. Victims are now informed, present, and heard because of you.
We thank you for fighting for the rule of law, for public safety, and for the rights of those society failed to protect. You are a champion of law and order.
God be with you, sir. We are so very grateful for everything you have done. Your legacy will live always in our hearts and in our halls of justice.
With deep gratitude and respect on behalf of America's crime victims and advocates,
[signed by 26 crime victim advocates]
Tennessee Advances Marsy's Law.
On February 1, 2023,House Joint Resollution 94 (Marsy's Law) was introduced to add additional rights to the Tennessee Constitution. Marsy’s Law ensures victims of crime have enforceable rights and protections, including the rights to be notified when their abuser is released and the right to be heard in criminal proceedings involving sentencing, release or pleading. The House of Representatives unanimously adopted HJR94, as amended, on April 21, 2023 and passed by the state Senate on Feb. 12, 2024, HJR 48 was introducted on Jan. 16, 2025 for second consideration. Senate Joint Resolution 9 was passed as amended by the State Senate on March 3, 2025 and concurred in by the House on April 21, 2025. The amendment will be submitted for a vote at the November3, 2026 general election.
Constitutional Victims' Rights Amendment fails in Arkansas.
On January 31, 2025, House Joint Resolution 1009 was introduced in Arkansas to adopt a constitutional amendment providing rights for victims of misdemeanors and felony offenses in the adult and juvenile justice systems. However, upon adjournment on May 5, 2025, the proposal died in Committee.Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds Marsy's Law.
On April 7, 2020, Wisconsin voters ratified a revision to its victims' rights constitutional provision with 75 percent of the statewide voted. On Nov. 3, 2020, a circuit court judge ruled the amendment was improperly worded on the ballot for failing to spell out the effect of the amendment on the rights of people accused of crimes. The judge did not, however, nullify the amendment pending appeal to the State Supreme Court. On December 21, 2021, the state District 3 Court of Appeals asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly because of the statewide importance, novelty of the questions on appeal and lack of significant legal authority. The Court heard oral arguments on September 6, 2022. On May 16, 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed the circuit court and upheld the ratification of Marsy's Law.
The amendment strengthens existing constitutional protections by broadening their scope and providing for more effective, direct enforcement. The original constitutional provision was ratified in 1993.
"To those who hesitate and shy away from amending our constitution to protect victims, I would say with all due respect, it is a good thing that they were not in the first Congress that provided us with the Bill of Rights; it is good they were not in the 38th Congress that ended slavery, or in the 39th Congress, that asserted rights to equal protection and due process; it is good they were not in the 66th Congress, that extended the right to vote to women; and it's good they were not in the 87th Congress that ended the poll tax. You see, throughout the long course of our history, great injustices in America have ended with constitutional justice." Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, |
