State Victims' Rights Amendments
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not have a victims' rights amendment to its Constitution.
The Pennsylvania Legislature passed a proposed amendment (Marsy's Law) on June 19, 2019, which was referred for ratification on a statewide referendum for the November 5, 2019 ballot. However, on October 30, 2019, a judge ruled that the ballot question violated the requirement that separate amendments receive separate votes and granted a preliminary injunction preventing the counting of the votes.Nearly three-fourths of the ballots cast (74.01%) voted to "Yes" to adopt the amendment. On January 7, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a 3-2 decision, prevented the ratification election results from being counted pending further legal proceedings. On December 21, 2021, the court ruled 6-1 that the amendment violated Pennsylvania's Constitution's requirement that amendments address a single topic.
The proposed amendment reads as follows:
ยง 9.1. Rights of victims of crime.
(a) To secure for victims justice and due process throughout the criminal and juvenile justice systems, a victim shall have the following rights, as further provided and as defined by the General Assembly, which shall be protected in a manner no less vigorous than the rights afforded to the accused: to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim's safety, dignity and privacy; to have the safety of the victim and the victim's family considered in fixing the amount of bail and release conditions for the accused; to reasonable and timely notice of and to be present at all public proceedings involving the criminal or delinquent conduct; to be notified of any pretrial disposition of the case; with the exception of grand jury proceedings, to be heard in any proceeding where a right of the victim is implicated, including, but not limited to, release, plea, sentencing, disposition, parole and pardon; to be notified of all parole procedures, to participate in the parole process, to provide information to be considered before the parole of the offender, and to be notified of the parole of the offender; to reasonable protection from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused; to reasonable notice of any release or escape of the accused; to refuse an interview, deposition or other discovery request made by the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused; full and timely restitution from the person or entity convicted for the unlawful conduct; full and timely restitution as determined by the court in a juvenile delinquency proceeding; to the prompt return of property when no longer needed as evidence; to proceedings free from unreasonable delay and a prompt and final conclusion of the case and any related postconviction proceedings; to confer with the attorney for the government; and to be informed of all rights enumerated in this section.
(b) The victim or the attorney for the government upon request of the victim may assert in any trial or appellate court, or before any other authority, with jurisdiction over the case, and have enforced, the rights enumerated in this section and any other right afforded to the victim by law. This section does not grant the victim party status or create any cause of action for compensation or damages against the Commonwealth or any political subdivision, nor any officer, employee or agent of the Commonwealth or any political subdivision, or any officer or employee of the court.
(c) As used in this section and as further defined by the General Assembly, the term "victim" includes any person against whom the criminal offense or delinquent act is committed or who is directly harmed by the commission of the offense or act. The term "victim" does not include the accused or a person whom the court finds would not act in the best interests of a deceased, incompetent, minor or incapacitated victim.
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