State v. Spears

*513SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, CHIEF JUSTICE

¶ 38. (dissenting). For too many years victims have been the forgotten people in the criminal justice system. Victims frequently have viewed themselves as twice victimized — first by the criminal and then by the legal system. The victim rights movement has been a potent force for reforms that enable victims to be informed about their cases as they move through the criminal justice system and to influence the system's handing of their cases. The case before us is about one such reform — the victim's impact statement at sentencing.

¶ 39. The court of appeals…