Special Victims’ Rights Issue

The proposed Victims’ Rights Amendment, one version of which has been introduced into the current session of Congress as Senate Resolution 6 by Senators Feinstein and Kyl, reflects the intense interest in this issue in the United States and abroad. This interest already has resulted in constitutional amendments and statutes in many states, victims’ rights policies and programs in other countries, and even an international declaration. The supporters and proponents of the amendment in the United States cut across traditional political affiliations. Both “liberal” and “conservative” persons and organizations support the proposed amendment. Likewise, both “liberal” and “conservative” persons and organizations oppose the proposed amendment. There are good arguments for and against the proposed amendment. Judges and court personnel, as well as members of Congress and their constituencies—the citizens of the United States—should be aware of the full range of arguments relating to Senate Resolution 6 and the circumstances surrounding its creation and introduction in Congress. The Federal Judicial Center is pleased to publish this special issue of The State–Federal Judicial Observer, which focuses on the arguments and circumstances surrounding the proposed amendment, for the purpose of encouraging enlightened debate.

In this issue of the State-Federal Judicial Observer:

• A Proposed Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment: For an Amendment, by Laurence H. Tribe

• A Prpposed Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment: Against an Amendment, by Philip B. Heymann

• The Proposed Constitutional Amendment: Senate Joint Resolution 6

• A Special Focus on the Victims' Rights Amendment, by Rya W. Zobel

• The Justice Department and Victims' Rights Programs, by James G. Apple

• An Alternative Approach in the Victims' Rights Debate: Restorative Justice, by Thomas J. Quinn

• Victims' Rights Amendment's Ambiguity Would Encourage Litigation, by Elisabeth Semel

• The Proposed Constitutional Amendment: Senate Joint Resolution 6, by Thomas J. Quinn

• Summary of Arguments For and Against a Victim's Rights Constitutional Amendment, by Elisabeth Semel

• Victims' Rights Amendment Not a Threat to Defendant's Rights, by Paul G. Cassell

• Victim Impact Statements: Do They Help of Hinder?, by Melissa Deckman Fallon

• The Victims' Rights Movement: A Brief History, by Melissa Deckman Fallon

• Twenty-Nine States Amend Constitutions to Benefit Victims, by Elisabeth Semel

• Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power: Adopted by the United Nations, Resolution 40/34, on November 29, 1985

• Concern for Crime Victims Becomes International Issue