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Marsy's Law, the California Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008, is an Amendment to the state's Constitution and certain Penal Code sections enacted by voters through the initiative process in the November 2008 general election. The Act protects and expands the legal rights of victims of crime to include 17 rights in the judicial process, including the right to legal standing, protection from the defendant, notification of all court proceedings, and restitution, as well as granting parole boards far greater powers to deny inmates parole.〔 ==Background== Marsy Nicholas was the sister of Henry Nicholas, the Co-Founder and former Co-Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Corporation. In 1983, Marsy, then a senior at UC Santa Barbara, was stalked and murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Her murderer, Kerry Conley, was tried by a Los Angeles jury and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Although he died in prison one year before Marsy's Law passed, the Nicholas family attended numerous parole hearings, which haunted them for years.〔http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-04-20/crime/24635277_1_henry-nicholas-murder-victim-marsy-s-law〕 Nicholas was the main organizer and sponsor of the campaign to pass Marsy's Law, whom former California Governor Pete Wilson called the "driving force" behind the constitutional amendment.〔http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nicholas-245053-marsy-victims.html〕 In late 2007, Nicholas convened a group, including Wilson, to consider putting a comprehensive victims' rights constitutional amendment on the ballot in California. The effort grew out of frustration that, despite previous legislative measures, victims still lacked adequate protection in the judicial system. Nicholas recruited noted legal scholars and former prosecutors to draft, rework and write the final version of the bill. In addition to Nicholas and Wilson, contributors included: *Steve Twist, noted victims' rights legal expert and author of Arizona's Victims' Bill of Rights *Douglas Pipes, recognized legal scholar *Douglas Beloof, professor at the Lewis & Clark Law School and board member of the National Crime Victims' Law Institute (NCVLI) *Meg Garvin, Executive Director of the NCVLI *Steve Ipsen, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney and then-President of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys *Todd Spitzer, then-State Assemblyman, former Orange County Assistant District Attorney and Marsy's Law Legal Affairs Director *Paul G. Cassell, former federal judge, University of Utah law professor *Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation *Thomas Hiltachk, then-legal counsel to then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger *Charles Fennessey, senior policy consultant to then-State Senator George Runner〔http://ag.ca.gov/victimservices/marsys_law.php〕 Co-signatories of the Constitutional Amendment included Henry Nicholas; his mother, Marcella Leach, a long-time victims' rights advocate and leader of Justice for Homicide Victims; and, LaWanda Hawkins, founder of Justice for Murdered Children. Todd Spitzer served as chair for the Marsy's Law campaign. Voters passed the Constitutional Amendment by a margin of 53.84% to 46.16%, despite being opposed by nearly every major newspaper in the state.〔 In 2009, Henry Nicholas formed Marsy's Law for All,〔http://marsyslawforall.org〕 which has the following objectives: * Ensure that Marsy's Law is enforced throughout California; * Help crime victims obtain quality legal representation; * Unite the victims' rights movement by providing organizations with media, technology and other support; * Pass an Amendment to the United States Constitution to protect the rights of victims nationwide 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Marsy's Law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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