The Marsy's Law for All national campaign for the expansion of victims' rights is an exercise in constitutional experimentation. But because it thrives on emotional manipulation, it has continued to win over one state legislature after another—despite opposition from civil libertarians and criminal justice reform advocates.
Their opposition, however, is quickly moving from the hypothetical to the real world, as more states grapple with the collateral consequences of implementing this reactionary law.
Marsy's Law differ from state to state but typically involve a familiar cluster of new and what critics deem extreme legal rights for crime victims—everything from privacy and notification mandates to legal representation and input on parole proceedings.
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