ABSTRACT
The Constitution grants certain rights to the criminal defendant and imposes certain limitations on the State designed to protect the individual from overreaching by the disproportionately powerful State. A preliminary point to make is that some opposition to victims' rights legislation is not based on philosophical or conceptual grounds but takes into account more practical legal and political matters. One issue within the scope of victims' rights is who exactly counts as the victim of a crime. The Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment appear to contain both substantive and procedural commitments to and restraints on the State's power over individuals. A more expansive view that advocates recognition of new rights is often based on questions of individual autonomy and principles of "equal concern and respect". In addition to amendments to many state constitutions, a bill had been proposed in the US Senate to amend the US Constitution with a Victims' Rights Amendment.
