Comment on the history of victims' rights and the related attempts to encourage victims to participate in the sentencing portion of the criminal case. Analyze the role the victim plays in the criminal justice proceedings today

Question

Explain the differences in the state system as opposed to the federal system when it comes to victims' rights.

Answer 1

Thanks to a grassroots resurgence of concern for the plight of victims that began in this country in the early 1970s, the sentencing process now frequently includes consideration of the needs of victims and their survivors. In times past, although victims might testify at trial, the criminal justice system frequently downplayed a victim's experience, including the psychological trauma engendered both by having been a victim and by having to endure the criminal proceedings that bring the criminal to justice. That changed in 1982, when the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime gave focus to a burgeoning victims' rights movement and urged the widespread expansion of victims' assistance programs during what was then their formative period. In 2004, the U.S. Senate passed the Crime Victims' Rights Act as part of the Justice for All Act. Some saw the legislation as at least a partial statutory alternative to a constitutional victims' rights amendment. The Crime Victims' Rights Act established statutory rights for victims of federal crimes and gives them the necessary legal authority to assert those rights in federal court. The act grants the 8 specific rights to victims of federal crimes:
1 . The right to be reasonably protected from the accused
2 . The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public proceeding involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused
3 . The right to be included in any such public proceeding
4 . The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding involving release, plea, or sentencing
5 . The right to confer with the federal prosecutor handling the case
6 . The right to full and timely restitution as provided by law
7 . The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay
8 . The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy