Not All Crime Victims Created Equal: Another Constitutonal Problem With Prop. 9

We’ve already explained some of the problems with Prop. 9 which  amends the California constitution by adding  “due process rights” for crime victims.  Here’s another one:  In the strange world of Prop 9, some crime victims are no longer crime victims. If you are not familiar with Proposition 9 or are not sure what “due process rights” are you should probably read our explanation of the Prop 9 problem, and then come back to this post.

Prop 9 has a provision that the crime victim’s so-called “due process” rights do not apply if the victim is “a person in custody for the offense” or “the accused.”

By not extending Prop 9 rights to “a person in custody for the offense”, someone who is assaulted or killed  in jail or prison, neither he nor his next of kin have Prop 9 rights.  And hat happens if someone is a victim of police brutality while in custody and criminal charges are filed against the police?  Does the victim lose his Prop 9 rights because he was in custody at the time of the crime?

As to “the accused” not enjoying Prop 9 rights, there’s lots of problems.  The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The whole point of the trial is to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.  By denying the accused Prop 9 rights, there’s an implicit presumption that the accused is guilty before the trial even gets underway.   This is especially troubling in cases where the accused claims self-defense. A self-defense argument raises the issue that no crime occurred at all, and therefore the alleged victim is not really a victim after all.

This denial of rights to certain classes of crime victimsis ripe for a constitutional challenge on the grounds that incarcerated and accused victim’s are denied equal protection under the law. To survive an equal proection challenge, Prop 9 proponents must show that there is a “rational basis” for the exclusion of these victims.  The only basis for this provision is emotionally-driven-mean-spiritedness and a desire for crime victims to assume the role of prosecutor, judge and jury.  There’s nothing rational about this provision of Prop 9.