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Wisconsin Question 3, Conditions for Cash Bail Amendment (April 1981)
| Wisconsin Question 3 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Bail policy and Criminal trials |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Wisconsin Question 3 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Wisconsin on April 7, 1981. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to authorize judges to consider the following circumstances when imposing and setting cash bail:
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A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment, thereby maintaining that anyone can receive cash bail, except for capital offenses when "the proof is evident or the presumption great." |
Election results
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Wisconsin Question 3 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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505,092 | 73.15% | ||
| No | 185,405 | 26.85% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 3 was as follows:
| “ | Shall section 8 of article I of the constitution be amended so that the legislature may permit courts to deny or revoke bail for certain accused persons; and so that courts may set conditions, including bail, for the release of accused persons to assure appearance in court, protect members of the community or prevent intimidation of witnesses? | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Wisconsin Constitution
The ballot measure amended Section 8 of Article I of the Wisconsin Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
Section 8. (1) No person shall may be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law, and no person for the same offense shall may be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall may be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself or herself.
(2) All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the shall be eligible for release under reasonable conditions designed to assure their appearance in court, protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or prevent the intimidation of witnesses. Monetary condition of release may be imposed at or after the initial appearance only upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary to assure appearance in court. The legislature may authorize, by law, courts to revoke a person's release for a violation of a condition of release.
(3) The legislature may by law authorize, but may not require, circuit courts to deny release for a period not to exceed 10 days prior to the hearing required under this subsection to a person who is accused of committing a murder punishable by life imprisonment or a sexual assault punishable by a maximum imprisonment of 20 years, or who is accused of committing or attempting to commit a felony involving serious bodily harm to another or the threat of serious bodily harm to another and who has a previous conviction for committing or attempting to commit a felony involving serious bodily harm to another or the threat of serious bodily harm to· another. The legislature may authorize by law, but may not require, circuit courts to continue to deny release to those accused persons for an additional period not to exceed 60 days following the hearing required under this subsection, if there is a requirement that there be a finding by the court based on clear and convincing evidence presented at a hearing that the accused committed the felony and a requirement that there be a finding by the court that available conditions of release will not adequately protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or prevent intimidation of witnesses. Any law enacted under this subsection shall be specific, limited and reasonable. In determining the 10-day and 60-day periods, the court shall omit any period of time found by the court to result from a delay caused by the defendant or a continuance granted which was initiated by the defendant.
(4) The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require requires it.[2]
Support
Supporters
Unions
- Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association
- Wisconsin County Police Association
- Wisconsin Professional Police Association
Organizations
Opposition
Opponents
Officials
Organizations
Path to the ballot
A simple majority vote is required during two legislative sessions for the Wisconsin State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Wisconsin State Assembly and 17 votes in the Wisconsin State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
During the 1980 special legislative session, the constitutional amendment was approved as Senate Joint Resolution 9. During the 1981 legislative session, the constitutional amendment was approved as Senate Joint Resolution 5.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 University of Wisconsin Library, "Wisconsin Blue Book 1981," accessed March 25, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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State of Wisconsin Madison (capital) |
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