Prop 102 would deny punitive damages to exploited workers and give bad bosses a free pass to abuse undocumented immigrants.
About Proposition 102
Prop 102: NO
10/22/06 | Arizona Daily Star
Denial of bail, punitive damages
Propositions 100 and 102 are slaps in the face to our judicial system and our state's constitution. They both interfere with judicial independence.
Prop. 100 is an amendment that would prohibit bail for any person charged with a serious felony offense if he or she entered the United States illegally.
Prop. 100 is pointless. Judges already take immigration status into consideration when assessing bail. They often presume that if an undocumented person commits a crime, he or she is more likely to flee the jurisdiction than a citizen with community roots. All Prop. 100 accomplishes is to prohibit judges from using their discretion.
Likewise, Prop. 102 takes a further swipe at the judiciary and the Constitution. This amendment would prohibit an undocumented person who wins a civil lawsuit from receiving punitive damages.
This amendment flies in the face of the Constitution, which gives everyone in this country the right to equal protection of the laws and the ability to petition the courts — regardless of immigration status.
Let the judicial system work as our Constitution's framers intended it. Let the courts, the judges and juries of our peers do their jobs.