Marsy's Law, the California Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008, enacted by voters as Proposition 9 through the initiative process in the November 2008 general election, is an amendment to the state's constitution and certain penal code sections.

Her murderer, Kerry Michael Conley,[11] was tried by a Los Angeles jury and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 17 years.

[13] The Nicholas family was the main organizer of the campaign to pass Marsy's Law, whom former California Governor Pete Wilson called the "driving force" behind the constitutional amendment.

[14] In late 2007, Nicholas convened a group, including Wilson, to consider putting a comprehensive victims' rights constitutional amendment on the ballot in California.

In addition, each of 58 county District Attorney's offices are required to inform alleged victims of these rights at the time a case is filed for criminal prosecution.

[20] Alleged victims now have the right to be heard at every stage of the legal criminal proceedings, which means before the judge makes a sentencing offer in the case.

In addition, actions to bar alleged victims from the courtroom under a "motion to exclude witnesses" are now routinely denied.

[24] The California Supreme Court has said it will review two cases, In re Vicks and In re Russo, which address whether the parole impact of Marsy's Law is unconstitutional.

[27] There are efforts to introduce similar Marsy's Laws in Georgia,[28] Hawaii,[29] Montana,[30] Nevada,[31] South Dakota,[32] Florida,[33] Maine,[34] and North Carolina.

In December 2021, the court then held that the provision's inclusion of multiple essentially unrelated changes violated the state constitution's "single subject" limitation for each amendment.

Restitution often involves replacement of stolen or damaged property or reimbursement of costs that the victim incurred as a result of the crime.

A court is required under current state law to order full restitution unless it finds compelling and extraordinary reasons not to do so.

This measure requires that, without exception, restitution be ordered from offenders who have been convicted, in every case in which a victim suffers a loss.

The victim also is entitled to be compensated for legal fees in hiring counsel under Marsy's Law on the issues relating to the securing of restitution.

[39] As noted above, Proposition 8 established a legal right for crime victims to be notified of, to attend, and to state their views at, sentencing and parole hearings.

These credits, which can be awarded for good behavior or participation in specific programs, reduce the amount of time a prisoner must serve before release.

However, some sheriffs also use alternative methods of reducing jail populations, such as confining inmates to home detention with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices.

A federal court order requires the state to provide legal counsel to parolees, including assistance at hearings related to parole revocation charges.

The ACLU has criticized Marsy's Law for undermining due process,[49] for being poorly drafted, and for being a threat to existing constitutional rights.

The approach taken by Marsy's Law includes rights that could actually strengthen the state's hand against a defendant, undermining a bedrock principle of the U.S. legal system — the presumption of innocence.

Allowing alleged victims to refuse to provide evidence and discovery to the accused is, as we have learned throughout our history, the way innocent people get convicted of crimes and wrongfully imprisoned.

Research conducted criticizes the factored weight of victim testimony during parole suitability hearings and grant outcomes.

[56] A prisoner with low recidivism is faced with a board that decides parole suitability is not present due to victim participation.

[57] Incarcerated individuals express the difficulty to reveal their efforts to re-enter their communities when victim participation decreases their chances for parole granting outcomes.