FL Voters Could Add Crime Victims Rights to the Constitution, Raise the Judicial Retirement Age, and More
Vote to see how others feel about this issue
What the Measure Does
Florida Amendment 6 combines three constitutional amendment proposals into one ballot measure for voters’ consideration. This ballot measure would do three things:
- Amend the state constitution to add Marsy’s Law providing crime victims and their families with certain rights, including a right to due process and to be treated with fairness and respect; a right to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse; a right to have the victim's welfare considered when setting bail; and a right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay;
- Raise the age at which judges are required to retire from 70 to 75 years old and delete the authorization to complete the judicial term if half of the term has been served by retirement age for the government employee; and
- Prohibit state courts from deferring to an administrative agency’s interpretation of a state statute or rule in lawsuits, obligating judges to perform individual analyses of how the law applies to specific cases when interpreting statutes
This amendment would also eliminate a current provision in the state constitution stating that victims’ rights don't interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused.
Argument in Favor
Accused criminals shouldn’t have more rights than crime victims, and victims’ rights should be enshrined in the state constitution. As life spans rise, raising the judicial retirement age to 75 adjusts judges’ times on the bench to be commensurate with their longer expected life spans. Courts should interpret the law instead of deferring to agencies’ interpretations.
Argument Against
Florida’s constitution already protects victims’ rights, and this amendment would eliminate an existing provision that victims’ rights don’t interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused, putting defendants’ rights in jeopardy. The judicial retirement age should stay at its current level, and courts should be able to defer to agencies’ interpretations of the law.
In-Depth
Marsy’s Law for Florida is leading the campaign in support of Amendment 6 with the support of Florida Smart Justice and 37 sheriffs across the state. Walton County Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson says in support of this ballot measure:
“We are all familiar with federal and state laws that provide those accused and convicted of a crime with clear protections to ensure due process. However, many are surprised to learn crime victims don’t have any clear, enforceable rights within the state constitution. This means that, legally, crime victims have less rights than criminals. ... As a sheriff, I’ve witnessed firsthand how crime can destroy people’s lives and the community. I firmly believe we need constitutional provisions that protect the rights of victims as fiercely as the rights of the accused — nothing more, and nothing less. Marsy’s Law for Florida will appear on the ballot this November as Amendment 6. If passed by 60 percent of voters, crime victims will be entitled to the same rights as those accused and convicted of a crime.”
Save My Constitution opposes Amendment 6, as well as every other ballot measure on the November 2018 ballot, on the grounds that the measures — which combine multiple issues on the same measure — are confusing and deceptive. The League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Public Defender Association, ACLU of Florida, and Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida also oppose Amendment 6. Explaining its opposition to Amendment 6, the ACLU of Florida argues that a Marsy’s Law constitutional amendment is unnecessary given the robust victims rights already in the state constitution:
“The Florida Constitution as it stands right now has a very robust victims rights section: Victims have the right to be heard, victims have the right to be present in all stages of the proceedings whether it be the filing of charges, arraignment, trial as well as sentencing. They have the right to be informed on what is happening with the case. This constitutional [amendment] gives corporations the same footing as human victims. In other words, you can now have corporations coming into criminal proceedings with high priced lawyers trying to dictate how the criminal justice process should go.”
The inclusion of multiple, seemingly unrelated, issues in a single amendment is known as “bundling.” Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years to review and update Florida’s state constitution, used bundling in a majority (Amendments 6 through 13) of the proposed amendments it placed on the November ballot.
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / LPETTET)
The Latest
-
The Latest: Israel Attacks Gaza’s Largest Medical FacilityUpdated Mar. 18, 2024, 10:20 a.m. EST Israel's military issued a raid on Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital , the largest medical facility read more... Israel
-
Utah Bill Encourages Teachers To Carry FirearmsWhat’s the story? This week, Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that encourages teachers to carry a gun in their classrooms. read more... Public Safety
-
Trump and Biden Win 2024 Presidential NominationsUpdated March 13, 2024, 10:30 a.m. EST President Biden and former President Trump have secured the required delegates to be read more... Advocacy
-
Super Tuesday 2024 ResultsUpdated March 6, 2024, 10:15 a.m. EST As expected, the Super Tuesday results were dominated by Trump and Biden, increasing the read more... States