[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 447 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                        Calendar No. 28
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 447

To amend title 18, United States Code, to give further assurance to the 
  right of victims of crime to attend and observe the trials of those 
             accused of the crime, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 1997

  Mr. Nickles (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. 
   Grassley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                     ordered placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to give further assurance to the 
  right of victims of crime to attend and observe the trials of those 
             accused of the crime, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Victims' Rights Clarification Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. RIGHTS OF VICTIMS TO ATTEND AND OBSERVE TRIAL.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Rights of victims to attend and observe trial.--Chapter 
        223 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
        the end the following:
``Sec. 3510. Rights of victims to attend and observe trial
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any statute, rule, or other 
provision of law, in any trial of a defendant accused of an offense, a 
United States district court shall not order the exclusion of any 
victim of the offense from the trial on the basis that the victim may, 
during the sentencing phase of the proceedings--
            ``(1) make a victim impact statement or present any victim 
        impact information in relation to the sentence to be imposed on 
        the defendant; or
            ``(2) testify as to the effect of the offense on the victim 
        or the family of the victim.
    ``(b) Definition of Victim.--In this section, the term `victim' has 
the same meaning as in section 503(e)(2) of the Victims' Rights and 
Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10607(e)(2)).''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The analysis for chapter 223 of 
        title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:

``3510. Rights of victims to attend and observe trial.''.
    (b) Admissibility of Certain Evidence.--Section 3593(c) of title 
18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after ``misleading the 
jury.'' the following: ``For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 
fact that a victim (as that term is defined in section 503(e)(2) of the 
Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10607(e)(2))) 
attended or observed the trial in accordance with applicable statutes, 
rules, or other provisions of law, shall not be construed to create a 
danger of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the 
jury.''.
    (c) Effect on Pending Cases.--The amendments made by this section 
shall apply in any case that is pending on the date of the enactment of 
this Act.




                                                        Calendar No. 28

105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 447

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to give further assurance to the 
  right of victims of crime to attend and observe the trials of those 
             accused of the crime, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 14, 1997

             Read twice and ordered placed on the calendar