Pennsylvania Question 1, Interactions Between Accused Individuals and Witnesses Amendment (2003)
| Pennsylvania Question 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 4, 2003 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials and Constitutional language | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Pennsylvania Question 1 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Pennsylvania on November 4, 2003. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitutional language to match that of the United States Constitution providing that a person accused of a crime has the right to be "confronted with the witnesses against him," instead of the right to "meet the witnesses face to face," therefore allowing witnesses to testify without being physically present with the accused person. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitutional language to match that of the United States Constitution providing that a person accused of a crime has the right to be "confronted with the witnesses against him," instead of the right to "meet the witnesses face to face," thereby requiring witnesses to testify without being physically present with the accused person. |
Election results
|
Pennsylvania Question 1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
1,239,356 | 68.19% | ||
| No | 578,031 | 31.81% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 1 was as follows:
| “ | Shall the Pennsylvania constitution be amended to provide that a person accused of a crime has the right to be "confronted with the witnesses against him," instead of the right to "meet the witnesses face to face? | ” |
Attorney General ballot explanation
The Pennsylvania Attorney General provided an explanation of Amendment 1 which said:
| “ | This ballot question proposes to amend the provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution that gives persons accused of a crime the right to "meet the witnesses face to face." The United States Constitution gives an accused person the right to "be confronted with the witnesses against him." This ballot question would make the language of the Pennsylvania Constitution the same as the language of the United States Constitution.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that laws permitting children to testify in criminal proceedings outside the physical presence of the accused, by means such as videotaped deposition and closed-circuit television, violate the Pennsylvania Constitution because they deny accused persons the right to confront the witnesses against them "face to face." In contrast, the United States Supreme Court has upheld such laws under the United States Constitution, which guarantees accused persons the right to confront the witnesses against them, but not necessarily the right to confront witnesses "face to face." The purpose of this ballot question is to remove from the Pennsylvania Constitution the right of accused persons to confront the witnesses against them "face to face," so that the Pennsylvania General Assembly may enact laws or the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may adopt rules that permit children to testify in criminal proceedings outside the physical presence of the accused. The Pennsylvania Constitution would continue to guarantee accused persons the right to confront the witnesses against them. This ballot question is limited in that it would remove from the Pennsylvania Constitution only the right to confront witnesses "face to face." The effect of this ballot question would be to remove from the Pennsylvania Constitution the right of accused persons to confront the witnesses against them "face to face" and to make the language of the Pennsylvania Constitution guaranteeing accused persons the right to confront the witnesses against them the same as the language of the United States Constitution.[1][2] |
” |
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
- Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission - Ballot Questions & Proposed Amendments (1958 to 1997)
- Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Pennsylvania 1967 Referenda and Primary Election Materials (ICPSR 6)
Footnotes
- ↑ lehighcounty.org, "Ballot Question 1," accessed September 25, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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