Maurer School of Law: Indiana University Digital Repository @ Maurer Law Articles by Maurer Faculty Faculty Scholarship 1998 Co-Opting Compassion: The Federal Victim's Rights Amendment Lynne N. Henderson Indiana University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Criminal Law Commons Recommended Citation Henderson, Lynne N., "Co-Opting Compassion: The Federal Victim's Rights Amendment" (1998). Articles by Maurer Faculty. 1958. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/1958 This Response or Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by Maurer Faculty by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. COMMENTARY CO-OPTING COMPASSION: THE FEDERAL VICTIM'S RIGHTS AMENDMENT LYNNE HENDERSON* For several years, Congress has considered a number of proposals to recommend a Victim's Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In 1996, Senators Feinstein' and Kyl2 and Representative Hyde3 introduced proposed amendments to the Constitution that would provide certain, variously defined rights to crime victims During Na- tional Crime Victim's Week in 1997,' the Senate Committee on the Judici- ary held hearings on the most current proposal, Senate Judiciary Resolu- tion 6.6 The hearings were then heavily attended by members of victim advocacy groups supporting its adoption.7 Televised by Cable News Net- work, the hearings included testimony from numerous groups and indi- * Professor of Law, Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law.