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Senate passes victims' rights constitutional declaration and approving statute with clarifying pretrial language
Summary
Lawmakers adopted S.J.R. 6 (constitutional victims' rights declaration) and passed S.B. 156 to implement those rights; the floor clarified pretrial procedures and recorded S.B. 156's vote as 22 ayes, 1 nay, 6 absent.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 18 approved S.J.R. 6, a constitutional declaration of victims' rights, and later passed S.B. 156 to set out statutory implementation details such as victim impact statements and hearing procedures.
Sponsor Senator Craig Peterson introduced S.B. 156 as implementing language for the victims' rights amendment, describing protections for victims, impact statements and hearing procedures. During floor questioning, Senators asked whether the accused retains the right to face accusers in pretrial proceedings; Senator Peterson and floor respondents clarified that full confrontation rights remain at trial. The bill’s pretrial provisions were described as tailored to accommodate victim-protection measures (for example, allowing video testimony for child victims), and sponsors emphasized that trial confrontation rights are preserved.
The chamber recorded a vote on S.B. 156 reported as 22 ayes, 1 nay and 6 absent; the measure passed and will be transmitted for further action.
Quote from floor: "Absolutely. There is no restriction on this. It was only with pretrial instances. The trial still requires full, right of full constitutional, right to the accused to face his accuser," the sponsor said in explaining the bill's distinctions between pretrial and trial procedure.
Ending: S.J.R. 6 and S.B. 156 proceed from the Senate with adopted clarifications; sponsors said the statutory language is intended to operationalize the constitutional amendment while preserving defendants' trial rights.
