Texas Constitutional Amendment Election, 2007 - Proposition 13

Proposition 13

Proposition 13 (H.J.R. No. 6) is the constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to a person who violates certain court orders or conditions of release in a felony or family violence case.

The measure passed 83.85 percent in favor to 16.15 percent against.

• Comments by supporters: The proposed amendment would allow a judge to determine whether a defendant poses an unacceptable threat to a victim of domestic violence or to the community and, if so, to deny the defendant bail, which would protect the victim and the community in a way that a bail bond, community monitoring, or electronic monitoring could not. Domestic situations are often inherently volatile and subject to rapid escalation of violence. The denial of bail may be the only means to ensure victim or community safety in cases in which the defendant is willing to violate conditions of release or court orders.

• Comments by opponents: The right to bail is an important constitutional right that should not be taken away lightly, particularly in the absence of an act of violence or a threat. Amending the constitution to authorize a denial of bail establishes a means to punish defendants through confinement before they are found guilty by a jury. The right to bail is also an invaluable tool in preventing jail overcrowding. The proposal is specific to family violence. While abhorrent, family violence is dealt with adequately in other sections of the Penal Code. Punishing an offense based on the victim’s status represents a retreat from the reforms made to the Penal Code in the mid-1990s, which emphasized the seriousness of the criminal act rather than the status of the victim.