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“20 Years On, It’s Time To Fix The Crime Victims’ Rights Act”

By Douglas Berman

The title of this post is the title of this new Law360 essay authored by Bridgette Stumpf. Here are some excerpts:

The Crime Victims’ Rights Act, passed in 2004, was intended to require actors in the criminal legal system to provide information to survivors of crime, as well as support to lessen the revictimization many survivors experience from the legal system itself.

Though the law was a good start, it has fallen short in several key ways. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the CVRA this month, it’s time to confront what is broken about the law….

Within the criminal legal system, survivors have very little control or options for empowerment, despite efforts to create meaningful inclusion through laws like the CVRA.  Given this reality, criminal legal reform must prioritize the opportunity to ensure survivors know about their options and are connected to actionable support to minimize the negative consequences of trauma.

A new bill would do just that.  The Reinforcing Crime Victims’ Rights Act was introduced in late September and is sponsored by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Burgess Owens, R-Utah, with Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Lois Frankel, D-Fla., serving as original co-sponsors. Proposed amendments to the CVRA would require that survivors are provided with a crime victims’ rights card.

Due to the so-called CSI effect — in which many people learn about the criminal legal system through fictitious television shows that solve crimes in less than an hour — many victims of crime believe that the prosecutor is their personal lawyer, even though the goals of the prosecutor and the victim do not always align.

Under the new bill, every crime victim would receive information, in writing, indicating that they have the right to seek independent victims’ rights counsel during this process to ensure rights are afforded to them and enforced if violated.  This is an important step to ensure all survivors are receiving the same information.

Additionally, the bill would require more effective oversight of government actors who violate victims’ rights.  Those who fail to afford rights to victims will be subject to complaints that carry actual remedies for crime victims.