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California Proposition 115, Changes to Criminal Law and Trials Initiative (June 1990)
| California Proposition 115 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date June 5, 1990 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials and Law enforcement | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Amendment & Statute | Origin Citizens |
California Proposition 115 was on the ballot as a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute in California on June 5, 1990. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported:
|
A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution and changing state criminal law and trial rules. |
Election results
|
California Proposition 115 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
2,690,115 | 57.03% | ||
| No | 2,026,599 | 42.97% | ||
Measure design
Proposition 115 made the following changes in California criminal law and in the procedures that judges are required to follow in criminal cases:[1]
- Criminal defendants in California are not to have greater constitutional rights than those afforded under the U.S. Constitution.
- The definition of first-degree murder was expanded to include additional circumstances.
- The crime of torture was established and defined.
- Preliminary hearings were eliminated for felons whose indictments resulted from grand jury proceedings.
- Changed rules affecting the disclosure of information between prosecuting and defending attorneys in criminal cases.
- Changed the rules governing how jurors are questioned and selected for criminal trials.
- Allowed hearsay evidence under certain circumstances.
- Set provisions for speedy trials in certain criminal cases.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition 115 was as follows:
| “ | Criminal Law. Constitutional Amendment and Statute. | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | Amends state Constitution regarding criminal and juvenile cases: affords accused no greater constitutional rights than federal Constitution affords; prohibits post-indictment preliminary hearings; establishes People's right to due process and speedy, public trials; provides reciprocal discovery; allows hearsay in preliminary hearings. Makes statutory changes, including: expands first degree murder definition; increases penalty for specified murders; expands special circumstance murders subject to capital punishment; increases penalty for minors convicted of first degree murder to life imprisonment without parole; permits probable cause finding based on hearsay; requires court to conduct jury examination. Summary of Legislative Analyst's estimate of net state and local government fiscal impact: The net fiscal effect of this measure is unknown. The measure makes several significant changes to the criminal justice system. How the measure will be implemented and interpreted is unknown. There may be only a minor fiscal impact on state and local governments, or there may be a major fiscal impact. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Constitutional changes
The passage of Proposition 115 amended the California Constitution:
- Added Section 14.1 to Article I.
- Amended Section 24 of Article I.
- Added Section 29 to Article I.
- Added Section 30 to Article I.
Fiscal impact
The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:[1]
| “ | The net fiscal effect of this measure is unknown. The measure makes several significant changes to the criminal justice system. How the measure will be implemented and interpreted is unknown. There may be only a minor fiscal impact on state and local governments, or there may be a major fiscal impact.[2] | ” |
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast at the preceding gubernatorial election. For initiated amendments filed in 1990, at least 595,485 valid signatures were required.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 University of California, "Voter Guide," accessed July 7, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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