HJR 2010 (LSB 5459HV (2) 87)

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2010

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO HJR 2003)

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the rights of a crime victim.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  The following amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is proposed:
   Article I of the Constitution of the State of Iowa is amended by adding the following new section:
   Crime victims —— rights.  SEC. 26.  A victim has the right to be treated with fairness and dignity, with respect for the victim’s safety and privacy, and to be informed of all rights in this section. Upon request, a victim shall have the right to reasonable notice of all proceedings involving the criminal offense; to be present and to be heard in any proceeding involving a release, plea, sentencing, disposition, parole, and any right of the victim; to release conditions which protect the victim; to notice of any release or escape of the defendant; to restitution; and to confer with the attorney for the government. A victim may assert the rights in this section. A victim is a person who has suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm as a direct result of a public offense or a delinquent act, other than a simple misdemeanor, committed in this state. A victim includes the immediate family members of a victim who died or was rendered incompetent as a result of the offense or who was under eighteen years of age at the time of the offense.
    Sec. 2.
  REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION.
  The foregoing proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred to the general assembly to be chosen at the next general election for members of the general assembly, and the secretary of state is directed to cause the proposed amendment to be published for three consecutive months previous to the date of that election as provided by law.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the rights of a crime victim.
   The joint resolution specifies that a victim has the right to be treated with fairness and dignity, with respect for the victim’s safety and privacy, and to be informed of all rights in this section. The joint resolution provides that upon request, a victim shall have the right to reasonable notice of all proceedings involving the criminal offense; to be present and to be heard in any proceeding involving a release, plea, sentencing, disposition, parole, and any right of the victim; to release conditions which protect the victim; to notice of any release or escape of the defendant; to restitution; and to confer with the attorney for the government. A victim may assert the rights enumerated in the joint resolution. The joint resolution defines a victim to mean a person who has suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm as a direct result of a public offense or a delinquent act, other than a simple misdemeanor, committed in this state. Under the joint resolution, a victim includes the immediate family members of a victim who died or was rendered incompetent as a result of the offense or who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense. 
   The resolution, if adopted, would be published and then referred to the next general assembly (88th) for adoption a second time, before being submitted to the electorate for ratification.