“Justice for None: How Marsy’s Law Undermines the Criminal Legal System”

The title of this post is the title of this lengthy new report released today by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  Here is part of the report’s executive summary:

Marsy’s Law is the colloquial name for a model Victims’ Bill of Rights that enshrines victims’ rights within state constitutions. Marsy’s Law was first passed in California in 2008 and has since been adopted in 12 states….

This report aims to shed light on the impact of Marsy’s Law.  While Marsy’s Law proponents argue that the impact on due process for accused individuals has been minimal while the benefits for victims have been immense, legal challenges and news reports from impacted states suggest otherwise.  Many of the provisions of Marsy’s Law are impractical and conflict with the constitutional due process protections for defendants.  There is a need for systematic scrutiny of Marsy’s Law across impacted states to study its impact including identifying challenges, unintended consequences, and the gaps in the collective knowledge and awareness of its effects.  While there has been vocal opposition to Marsy’s Law from many stakeholders including defense attorneys, civil rights groups, a bipartisan group of state legislators, legal experts, victim advocates, and police chiefs and sheriffs, these critiques have largely been siloed within their respective states.

This report synthesizes existing information on Marsy’s Law and presents the findings of new research on the effects of Marsy’s Law in impacted states.  Case law, legal and expert analysis, stakeholder experiences, and empirical research are utilized to provide insights on the impact and consequences of Marsy’s Law on the criminal legal system, including effects on accused individuals, victims, and public safety. In addition to the secondary data (e.g., court rulings, newspaper articles, press releases), a mixed-methods approach was used to gather data from stakeholders in impacted states.  The aim of this research was to obtain an understanding of how Marsy’s Law has impacted the criminal legal system in their states, and their experiences before and after implementation.  A quantitative survey instrument was designed and administered to a variety of stakeholders.  This report presents the results of the experiences of defense attorneys (n=299) in impacted states.  Second, focus groups with defense attorneys and other relevant stakeholders were conducted to bring to light in-depth expertise and experiences with Marsy’s Law.