Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Pennsylvania Joint Resolution 2, Commonwealth's Right to Trial by Jury Amendment (1998)
| Pennsylvania Joint Resolution 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 1998 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Pennsylvania Joint Resolution 2 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Pennsylvania on November 3, 1998. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to give the state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the right to a jury in criminal cases. |
A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment to give the state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the right to a jury in criminal cases. |
Election results
|
Pennsylvania Joint Resolution 2 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
1,496,894 | 68.63% | ||
| No | 684,204 | 31.37% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Joint Resolution 2 was as follows:
| “ | Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to provide that the Commonwealth shall have the same right to trial by jury in criminal cases as does the accused? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
The purpose of the ballot question is to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give the Commonwealth, as representative of the people and the victim, the same right to a jury trial in criminal cases as is currently given to the accused. Beginning in 1935, Pennsylvania law provided that the accused in a criminal case could waive his or her right to a jury trial as long as both the court and the Commonwealth consented. Because the accused could be tried without a jury only if the Commonwealth consented, the Commonwealth had the same right to a jury trial as did the accused. With the constitutional amendments of 1968, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was given the authority to issue rules of procedure. In 1968, the Supreme Court adopted a rule of criminal procedure that continued the statutory practice requiring the Commonwealth's consent when an accused waives the right to a jury trial. In 1973, however, the Supreme Court amended the rule to remove the need for the Commonwealth's consent, which took away from the Commonwealth the same right to a jury trial that is given to the accused. In 1977, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted a law that returned to the Commonwealth the same right to a jury trial that is given to the accused, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared the 1977 law unconstitutional because it conflicted with the 1973 amendment to the Court's procedural rule. The effect of the ballot question would be to restore the law to what it was prior to the Supreme Court's 1973 rule; namely, that the Commonwealth would have the same right to a jury trial in a criminal case as does the accused, which is also consistent with federal law. The right of an accused to a jury trial would not be affected by the proposed amendment. A limitation on the proposed amendment is that it would give the Commonwealth no greater a right to a jury trial than is given to the accused. | ” |
Path to the ballot
In Pennsylvania, the General Assembly must pass a constitutional amendment by a simple majority vote during two successive legislative sessions to refer the measure to the ballot for voter consideration. The legislature can also pass a measure by a two-thirds vote during one legislative session if a “major emergency threatens or is about to threaten the Commonwealth.”
See also
External links
Footnotes
 |
State of Pennsylvania Harrisburg (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
