Constitutional Amendment 3 — Crime victims' rights

Lean: Yes Scripture command November 3, 2026

Plain summary

Yes. Replaces Article I, Section 35 with a longer victims' bill: notice, presence, a right to be heard, full and timely restitution, and protection, plus fences the current section lacks. The victim is not a party. The section must be interpreted to preserve the rights of all persons to due process. It does not vacate a conviction, and it does not restrict the District Attorney General or the court.

No. Keeps the current Article I, Section 35. That section is not empty. It already includes a right to confer with the prosecution, freedom from intimidation, presence, a right to be heard at critical stages as defined by the General Assembly, notice, a speedy disposition, restitution, and a right to be informed of those rights. It has none of the new fences. No is current law, not a neutral abstention.

Stated facts

The substituted section says a victim, as defined by law and which may be expanded by the General Assembly, has the listed rights, including full and timely restitution and reasonable protection, as defined by the General Assembly, from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused. A victim asserts the rights not as a party. The section must be interpreted to preserve and protect the rights of all persons to due process. It does not vacate a conviction and does not restrict the District Attorney General or the inherent authority of the court. It creates no damages claim against the state or court staff. Current Section 35 already gives restitution and a right to be heard. It does not contain the due-process-for-all sentence or the non-party clause.

Lane table

Lane	Yes	No (current law)	Scripture
Restitution / face the wronged Scripture command Current law already gives a restitution right. Yes adds "full and timely."	Stronger	Thinner	;
Protect the vulnerable Scripture command	Stronger	Thinner
Impartial judging Scripture command Deuteronomy 1:17 is impartial judging. Current law already gives a right to be heard at critical stages. Yes writes a wider fixed voice and a due-process-for-all rule. The added risk is real and small.	Mixed	Thinner	;
Private vengeance vs magistrate Scripture command Yes says the victim is not a party, bars vacating a conviction under the section, and leaves the prosecutor and the court their powers. Current law is silent on those fences.	Fenced	Thinner	;
Restraint of civil authority Scripture command Both options are tested. A good aim for victims does not justify a means that drops proof or proportion. The open definition of victim is ordinary legislative implementation, because current law already lets the General Assembly define it.	Mixed	Thinner	;
Test: Legitimate purpose Scripture command	Stronger	Thinner	;
Test: Justice to the individual Scripture command WLC 144-145. The due-process sentence is in the text. There is no rule that victim input cannot stand in for proof.	Mixed	Thinner	;
Test: Proportion Scripture command	Mixed	Thinner
Test: Fit Prudential judgment Prudential. Notice, restitution, and a right to be heard fit the wrong done to the victim. Not a least-restrictive-means test.	Fitted to the wrong	Thinner
Test: Accountability Scripture command	Fenced	Thinner	;

Counted gaps

Protections the text omits. They count against the measure and do not change the lean into a condition.

The text does not say that a victim's role can never stand in for proof or a proportionate sentence. ;
The General Assembly may expand who counts as a victim. That open definition is a small counted gap. It is ordinary legislative implementation, because current Section 35 already delegates definition to the General Assembly.
"Reasonable protection, as defined by the General Assembly," from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused has no further limit in the text. ;
The right to be heard in any proceeding involving release includes pretrial release, and the text sets no rule for how much weight that voice carries. ;

Watch notes

These notes do not change the lean.

The right to reasonable protection, as defined by the General Assembly, from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused must not burden defense counsel or investigators in lawful work. The accused has a right to answer the charge. ;
Whether victim statements at plea or sentencing are treated as proof of guilt, or as a reason to go beyond a lawful range.
How the standing language in the final paragraph is carried out.

Lean and why

Lean: Yes. Scripture command Scripture command. Yes strengthens restitution and protection of the person who was wronged, and it adds fences the current section lacks: the victim is not a party, a conviction cannot be vacated under the section, the prosecutor and the court keep their powers, and the section must be read to protect the rights of all persons to due process. The cost to impartial judging is real and small, because a right to be heard already exists. This is not a close call. The open definition of victim stays a counted gap and does not flip the lean. Scripture: ; ; ; ;

Overreach check

The ends are biblical. The means add a voice at release, plea, sentencing, and parole. The text fences that voice. Those fences do not themselves write a proof rule or a sentence range. That omission is a counted gap, not a condition on the lean.

Caveats

In Tennessee, a blank on an amendment works like a No for anyone voting for governor (Tennessee Constitution, Article XI, Section 3; Tennessee Secretary of State). This is the counting rule. It is not a request to vote. The watch note on defense counsel and investigators does not change the lean.