Nebraska Amendment 3, Crime Victim Rights Measure (May 1996)
| Nebraska Amendment 3 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Crime victims' rights |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Nebraska Amendment 3 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Nebraska on May 14, 1996. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to provide for crime victims' rights in the state constitution, including being informed of all criminal court proceedings and the right to be present at the trial, among others. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to provide for crime victims' rights in the state constitution, including being informed of all criminal court proceedings and the right to be present at the trial, among others. |
Election results
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Nebraska Amendment 3 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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194,964 | 78.01% | ||
| No | 54,950 | 21.99% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 3 was as follows:
| “ | A constitutional amendment to prescribe that crime victims shall have certain rights. A crime victim or his or her guardian or representative would have the right to be informed of all criminal court proceedings, the right to be present at trial unless the trial court finds that keeping the victim out is necessary for a fair trial for the defendant, and the right to be informed of, be present at, and make an oral or written statement at sentencing, parole, pardon, commutation, and conditional release proceedings. The Legislature would be required to pass laws for implementation of such rights. There would be no remedies other than as specifically provided by the Legislature for the enforcement of such rights. [ ] For [ ] Against | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
A vote FOR this proposal will add a new section to the Bill of Rights of the state constitution detailing certain rights to be possessed by the victims of crime or their representatives or guardians, as defined by law, to include: (I) being informed of all criminal court proceedings; (2) the right to be present at the trial unless the court determines that the victim should not be in attendance if necessary for a fair trial for the defendant(s); and (3) to be informed of, be present at, and make an oral or written statement at sentencing, parole, pardon, commutation, and conditional release proceedings. In addition, it will be provided that these rights shall not be construed so as to deny or impair the enforcement of others provided by law or retained by crime victims; that the Legislature shall provide by law for the implementation of the rights detailed above; that there shall be no remedies other than as specifically provided by the Legislature for the enforcement of these rights; and that nothing in this new section shall be a basis for error in favor of a defendant in any criminal proceeding, or be the basis for providing standing to participate as a party to any criminal proceeding. or be a basis to contest the disposition of any charge. A vote AGAINST this proposal will result in not adding to the Bill of Rights of the state constitution a new section detailing rights to be possessed by the victims of crime, their implementation by the Legislature, and the remedies to be provided. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Nebraska Constitution
A 60% supermajority vote is required during one legislative session for the Nebraska State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 30 votes in the unicameral legislature, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 35% of the total votes cast in the election. This also applies to citizen initiatives.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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