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Alabama Conditions for Detention Without Bail Amendment (2020)
| Alabama Conditions for Detention Without Bail Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Alabama Conditions for Detention Without Bail Amendment was not on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The amendment was referred to as Aniah's Law.[1]
Measure design
The amendment would have allowed people accused of Class A felonies to be held without bail "if no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to the accused, the public, or both, ensure the presence of the accused at trial, or ensure the integrity of the judicial process."[2]
Class A felonies in Chapter 6 of Title 13A include murder, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, sexual torture, human trafficking, elder abuse, and domestic violence.[3]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been follows:[2]
| “ |
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that all persons charged with a crime, before conviction, be allowed bail, unless the person is charged with a Class A felony offense listed in Chapter 6 or Title 13A, when the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption of guilt is great and to allow the denial of bail if no condition of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to the accused, the public, or both, or ensure the presence of the accused at trial.[4] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Alabama Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 16 of Article I of the Alabama Constitution.[2]
The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[2]
That all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses Class A felonies listed in Chapter 6 of Title 13A, when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and that excessive. If no condition of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to the accused, the public, or both, or ensure the presence of the accused at trial, the accused may be detained without bail. Excessive bail shall not in any case be imposed or required.[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution
In Alabama, a 60% supermajority vote is required in each chamber of the Alabama State Legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.
Rep. Chip Brown (R-105) introduced the constitutional amendment as House Bill 81 (HB 81) during the 2020 legislative session. On February 27, 2020, the Alabama House of Representatives approved HB 81 in a vote of 104-0. Rep. Howard Sanderford (R-20) was not present or did not vote. The bill was not passed in the Senate before the legislature adjourned on May 18, 2020.[5]
| Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives | |||
| Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber | |||
Number of yes votes required: 63  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 104 | 0 | 1 |
| Total percent | 99.05% | 0.00% | 0.05% |
| Democrat | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 76 | 0 | 1 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Yellow Hammer News, "Alabama House of Representatives passes ‘Aniah’s Law’," accessed February 27, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Alabama State Legislature, "HB 81," accessed February 27, 2020
- ↑ Alabama Code, "Title 13A," accessed February 27, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Alabama State Legislature, "HB 2881 Overview," accessed February 27, 2020
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State of Alabama Montgomery (capital) |
|---|---|
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