Topic:
Victims' rights constitutional amendment
(Lang, D-Chicago; Steans, D-Chicago) is poised to amend the Illinois Constitution to create standing for victims to participate in criminal proceedings as a party. If passed, it would go on the ballot this November for Illinois citizens to approve or disapprove. It expands several of the ten current rights and creates three new ones.
Specifically, HJRCA 29 creates the following rights for victims:
(1) The right to be free from “harassment, intimidation, and abuse” throughout the criminal justice process. Currently Section 8.1 requires that victims be treated with fairness and respect for their dignity and privacy.
(2) The right to refuse to disclose to the defendant information that is privileged or confidential by law, as determined by a court of law with jurisdiction over the case.
(3) The right to confer (instead of communicate) with the prosecution.
(4) The right to be heard at any post-arraignment court proceeding in which a right of the victim is at issue and any court proceeding involving a post-arraignment release decision, plea, or sentencing. Currently victims have a right to make a statement to the court at sentencing.
(5) The right to have access to information in a report related to any aspect of a defendant’s sentence when available to the defendant as the General Assembly may provide by law.
(6) The right to be notified of the conviction, the sentence, the imprisonment, and the release of the accused.
(7) The right to have the safety of the victim and the victim's family considered in denying or fixing the amount of bail, determining whether to release the defendant, and setting conditions of release after arrest and conviction.
HJRCA 29 is scheduled for hearing today in Senate Executive Committee.
