Victims' Rights

Victims’ Rights

Heather Ketring

CJA / 394

August 10, 2015

Mike Magee

The victim of a crime does not cease to be a victim simply because the offender is sentenced and incarcerated. The impact of victimization often has long lasting effects on the individual such as emotional, mental, and in some cases physical damage to the victim. Previously, victims’ did not have rights or a voice within the criminal justice system often leaving crime victim afraid, angry, frustrated, confused, and in many cases, revictimized. The landscape of Victim’s Rights drastically changed with the creation and implementation of the Victims of Crime Act enacted in 1984 and later the Crime Victims’ Rights Act enacted in 2004. The paper will briefly discuss the history of Victims’ Rights, the current state of victims’ rights in California including Marsy’s Law and their impact on criminal law proceedings. In addition, a recommendation for change in the criminal court system regarding victims’ rights will be discussed.

Overview of Victims’ Rights

Every year, millions of American citizens are victims of a crime; these crimes range from violent crimes such as murder to property crimes such as burglary and theft. Victims’ were often left to deal with the emotional, mental, physical, and financial fallout on their own. In response to this crisis, President Ronald Reagan established the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime. The task force found that many of the victims lacked compensation and services. Reagan responded by enacting the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) in 1984. This act also led to the creation of the Crime Victims Fund which provides financial endowment to victim services and resources via monetary fines and fees imposed against federal criminal offenders. The Victims of Crime Act established crime victims’ rights, services, and compensation. However, there was still a large discrepancy between the rights of the offender and the rights of the victim. In October of 2004,...