Senate Judiciary Committee likely to vote on the Victims' Rights Amendment VRA) to the U.S. Constitution (S. J. Res. 1) this week. Ask your local prosecutor to call their Senators and oppose.

The latest version of this joint resolution (the term given to all proposed constitutional amendments) would give victims of violent crimes: (1) the right to notice of proceedings involving the crime and of prisoner release or escape; (2) the right not to be excluded from proceedings involving the crime and, with respect to certain proceedings, the right to be heard; and (3) the right to "adjudicative decisions" that consider the victim's safety, interest in avoiding delay, and claim to restitution.

While the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) agrees that victims must be treated with respect, we have always maintained that the VRA would dangerously abrogate the rights of those accused of crime and tie the justice system in knots. The amendment is equally problematic for prosecutors. The unfunded mandates and potential unintended consequences that would be enshrined by this proposal would wreak havoc on the administration of prosecutor's offices. Specifically --

1. Interference with prosecutorial discretion. To be sure, the amendment would be used to call into question the judgment of prosecutors about how a case is to be handled. Allowing victims to protest against what they perceive to be lenient plea bargains, to force cases to trial before either side is prepared, and to interfere in other prosecutorial and judicial decisions every step of the way would tie up the courts and perhaps derail important investigations.

2. Increased workload without increased resources. As victims scuttle proposed plea deals, the number of cases going to trial will increase. And the right to "adjudicatory decisions" on issues like restitution, even when the defendant is penniless, will consume scarce resources with no benefit. Moreover, the proposed amendment is vague and confusing and will be litigated without end; for example, is the "victim" in a murder case the deceased or the family? Questions like these will become the focus of judges and practitioners for generations to come. Aside from the additional litigation costs and workload, whenever parole or release is to be considered, prosecutors' offices will share the onerous burden of identifying and tracking down victims years after the offenses were committed. These mandates are completely unfunded.