The Victims Rights Amendment has been endorsed by President Clinton, the National Governors Association, and Republican senators such as Jesse Helms, Phil Gramm, and Trent Lott. According to Congressional Quarterly , the proposed amendment is likely to pass Congress and be sent to the states. The amendment gives victims no additional rights to testify during trials. It only affects the segment of a trial when bail is being set or a sentence is being delivered. States already give victims rights .
Most states have some sort of victims rights law.
But many of the laws are weak and ineffective. A 1998 survey from the National Institute of Justice reports that in states identified as providing strong protection to victims, only 60 percent of victims were told when a sentencing hearing was taking place, and just 40 percent were told when a defendant was set free on bail. Legal commentator Bruce Fein says the Victims Rights Amendment would trivialize the Constitution. The Victims Rights Amendment, Cassell writes, continues this venerable tradition. Courts often treat victims as second-class citizens, Cassell argues.