[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 12 (Monday, March 24, 1997)]
[Page 386]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Victim Rights Clarification Act of 1997

March 19, 1997

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 924, the ``Victim Rights 
Clarification Act of 1997,'' to ensure that victims of crime and their 
families will not be prevented from attending a criminal trial in 
Federal court simply because they intend to exercise their right to give 
a statement during a sentencing hearing, once guilt has been decided. I 
commend the Congress for responding to the initiative led by crime 
victims and their families, and by a bipartisan group of State attorneys 
general. As I have said before, when someone is a victim, he or she 
should be at the center of the criminal justice process, not on the 
outside looking in. The Act, of course, does not limit the courts' 
authority and obligation to protect the defendant's right to a fair 
trial under the due process clause.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 19, 1997.

Note: H.R. 924, approved March 19, was assigned Public Law No. 105-6. 
This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 20.