Proposition 114 Arizona Crime Victims Protection Act Passes by Overwhelming Margin

Felons can no longer sue victims

Arizona voters passed Proposition 114, as expected, by an overwhelming 80% margin. The Arizona Constitution will be amended to abolish the right of aggressors to sue their victims if they are harmed in the process of committing a felony offense. There was little opposition, and no formal organized arguments “against” the measure prior to the election.

The constitution previously allowed for an unrestricted right of a person to sue another if they were harmed or injured by the person or property owner. However, this enabled some criminal offenders to sue their victims.

As a result of passage of Proposition 114, [SCR 1020] the Arizona Constitutional will be amended to the text of Article II, section 31 and Article XVIII, section 6. The amendments act as exceptions or exclusions to the existing rights of a person to file civil suit against another if they are harmed. The exception applies to persons fleeing or engaging in felony conduct.

The “victim” as defined, remains unchanged and includes a person against whom a felony criminal offense has been committed; spouse, parent, child, or other lawful representative, of the victim if they were killed, or incapacitated to sue on their own behalf.

Arizona Felony Defined

Under Arizona Law A.R.S. 13-105 (18) “Felony” is defined as an offense which sentencing that includes a term of incarceration in prison applies to a criminal offense conviction. These are generally serious, dangerous, violent, or aggravated crimes. Examples of felonies in Arizona include but are not limited to robbery, or armed robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drug trafficking, other serious drug offenses, manslaughter, vehicular homicide, carjacking, kidnapping, use of a firearm or other deadly weapon while engaging in a crime, and other serious offenses.

Felony Arrest v. Conviction – Application of the New Law

An arrest is the beginning of the criminal justice process. An arrest is not a conviction, and it does not mean a person is guilty of a felony offense. If a suspect is arrested for a felony they  have the right to hire a criminal defense attorney to defend their charges. In some cases, the charges are dismissed by the court and prosecution; or the defendant is acquitted or found “not guilty” of the felony offense by jury verdict. In that event, their civil right to sue an alleged victim if they were maliciously harmed would be preserved.