1. Chapter Seven Victims and the Criminal Justice System

2. Learning Objectives
To realize that some cases of interpersonal violence and theft will be handled in the juvenile justice system.
To become familiar with the legal rights victims have gained in recent decades.
To become aware of the obstacles and shortcomings of relying upon formal legal rights.
To identify the various ways that prosecutors can serve victims who are their clients.
To realize how conflicts can arise between victims and the lawyers assigned by the government to represent them in court proceedings.
To better understand the complexities of the witness intimidation problem.
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3. Learning Objectives
To appreciate how victims and defense attorneys might become embroiled in conflicts.
To discover how judges make crucial decisions affecting victims.
To become familiar with the many Supreme Court decisions that affect how victims are handled during legal proceedings.
To explore how jurors might react to victims and their plight.
To realize how corrections officials make decisions that either help or hurt victims.
To become alert to the problem that all victims were not treated equally in the criminal justice process in the past, and the possibility that differential handling probably still occurs.
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4. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
Victim Rights Flow From . . .
Policies from innovative CJ system officials
Case law
Laws passed by city, county and state government
Sixth Amendment vs. Seventh Amendment approach for victims
National Crime Victim’s Rights Act (CVRA)
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5. Victim Rights Categories
Zero-Sum Game Model
Victims’ rights gained at the expense of:
criminals
criminal justice system
either offenders or officials
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6. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
Rights Gained at the Expense of Offenders
Theory is that victim rights should be at the expense of offenders’ rights.
Need to shift balance of power away from offenders towards victims.
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7. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
T A B L E 7.1 Victims’ Rights Gained at the Expense of Suspects, Defendants, and Prisoners
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8. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
Victim Rights Gained at the Expense of the Criminal Justice System
Theory based on the fact that the social system is partly at fault for crime in America.
State should be obligated to minimize suffering of victims.
Victims should be made whole again even if offender not captured.
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9. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
T A B L E Victims’ Rights Gained at the Expense of Criminal Justice Agencies and Officials
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10. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
Rights Gained at the Expense of Offenders, the System, or Both
Victim Participates in:
Bail Setting Arrangements
Plea Negotiations
Sentencing Hearing Decisions— Allocution
Parole Board Appearances
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11. Toward Greater Formal Legal Rights Within the CJ System
Issues:
Do these formal rights apply to individuals who do not fit the profile of innocent victims?
No consequences for non-compliance with aforementioned victim rights.
Many countries and colonial America allowed for the victims to hire their own attorney to prosecute.
Processes result in “differential handling or differential access to justice.”
Provide advocates for victims—ex. Guardian ad Litem
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12. Victims and Prosecutors
Prosecutors are chief law enforcement officer within the jurisdiction.
How they can serve victims:
Keep victims informed of status of case.
Support victims with judges, bail, continuances, negotiated pleas, dropped charges, sentences and restitution.
Protect from harassment, threats, injuries and forms of intimidation and reprisals.
Resolve as quickly as possible.
Assist victims in recovering property from police.
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13. Victims and Prosecutors
Victim Witness Assistance Projects (VWAP)
To address witness and victim complaints
Intended to restore victims’ faith in CJ system
Personal intervention as soon as possible
Immediate relief to injured parties:
Hotlines, shelter, food, counseling, transportation and immediate lock repairs
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14. Victims and Prosecutors
VWAP Services
Translators
Recover lost property quickly
Social service and mental health referrals
Provide information about reimbursement for losses and compensation benefits
Keep victims informed of case developments
1974—35% of DA offices routinely notified felony victims of case outcomes
1992—97%
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15. Victims and Prosecutors
Protecting Victim Witnesses
Intimidation
Criminals, families and acquaintances of offenders, gangs, own family attempting to have victim drop charges—cultural issues.
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16. Victims and Prosecutors
Prosecutor should offer victim:
Protective services
Phone number change
Door locks/alarms
Improved police patrols
Orders of Protection
New home or relocate
Victim Witness-Protection Program
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17. Victims and Prosecutors
Dismissing or rejecting charges based on several issues:
Lack of evidence, unreliable witnesses
Police officials, others in prosecutor’s office, defense attorneys, judges, community leaders, media, and vocal interest groups can all affect prosecutor’s decision
Surveys revealed that nearly half of all cases that were solved by arrest were not carried forward (either rejected at screening by prosecutors, dismissed in court by judges, or diverted out of the system) (Boland and Sones, 1986; and Boland, Mahanna, and Sones, 1992).
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18. Victims and Prosecutors
Negotiating Pleas
Defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some kind of consideration (usually a reduction in charges).
95% of convictions secured by accused admitting guilt—often reduced from felony to misdemeanor.
In anticipation of the above, police and prosecutors engage in:
Bedsheeting
Overcharging
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19. Victims and Prosecutors
Plea negotiations result in:
Reducing court caseloads
Definite conviction (which might not happen if the case goes to trial)
Preventing victims from testifying to reduce emotional distress
Children
Rape victims
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20. Victims and Prosecutors
Plea negotiations continued:
Reducing the prosecution feeling threatened by involvement of victims— revenge motive
No opportunity for victims to have a defined role
No mechanisms for victims to challenge decisions of prosecutor
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21. Victims and Defense Attorneys
Natural enemy to victim
Attempts to protract the process, discredit witnesses
Sixth Amendment guarantees a “Speedy Trial”— states have time limits for trial after arrest
Efforts to delay wear down witnesses, affect memory of witnesses, find info about witnesses and victims
Eventually encourages victim to drop or reduce charges
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22. Victims and Defense Attorneys
General Rule: The more serious the charge, the longer it takes to go to trial.
Sixth Amendment provides that defendants have the right to confront their accusers.
Trials are relatively rare events.
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23. Victims and Defense Attorneys
Due to competition between sides, courtroom tactics seem harsh and mean- spirited.
Cast aspersions on character of victim
Often trashes victim in controversial cases
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24. Victims and Judges
Most conflict results during bail setting and sentencing.
Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail.
More than half of victims of serious crimes face the prospect that the offender harming them will be out on bail prior to case being resolved.
Denying of bail results in offender going to jail and being punished before conviction.
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25. Victims and Judges
Sentencing can be influenced by victims in two ways:
Conveying their requests in writing to the judge
Expressing their views orally in person at sentencing hearing (allocution)
Victim Impact Statements (VIS) can provide valuable information to a judge.
Often included in a pre-sentence investigation and reviewed by judge prior to sentencing
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26. Victims and Judges
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that VIS were not admissible in the penalty phase of a murder trial (Booth v. Maryland, ).
Court reversed itself in 1991, Payne v. Tennessee, stating VIS was admissible during penalty phase if execution was an option for a jury.
Practice of using VIS not widespread for judges.
See Box 7.4 for more U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding victims—majority of these decisions rejected victim arguments.
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27. Victims and Juries
Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant that he will be judged by a jury of his peers.
Issues and questions regarding the victim-juror relationship:
Victims influence outcomes because of emotions
Which jurors will accept and trust victim testimony
Jurors could be victims of serious crime themselves
Jurors may consider victim’s characteristics and status when making accusations and determining sentence
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28. Victims and Corrections Officials
Victims more likely to have contact with probation and parole agents than prison officials.
Victims want two things from agents:
Know when offenders are on probation or parole; protected from harassment or harm
If court ordered restitution, want it on time
Corrections to keep victim advised of offender’s address—VINE System.
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29. Victims and Corrections Officials
Parole boards often receive criticism from both victims and victim groups.
Typically opposed to “early release”
Want to abolish
Support determinate sentencing
Parole Boards to provide victims opportunity to appear at parole hearing—very few victims take advantage.
VIS is included in offender’s file for the parole board to review in making release decisions.
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30. “AND JUSTICE FOR ALL”
14th Amendment promises “equal protection under the law” for all citizens.
Is justice blind to all groups in the pursuit of justice?
Are all victims handled equally?
See Box 7.5—Which Victims Get Better Treatment?
“Differential handling” needs to be researched again to see if still persists today.
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31. Findings of policy decision impacts
No substantial changes in outcomes resulting from implementation of victim rights.
“Insiders” resist interference by outsiders (victims).
No constitutional standing for victims, which prevents them from suing for damages for the rights being ignored or violated by CJ system.
Changes mere “lip service, paper promises, cosmetic changes without much substance.”
By 2011, there were 12 legal clinics across the country to boost the degree of compliance by uninformed CJ officials.
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