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1.61 MB
Extraction Summary
6
People
2
Organizations
0
Locations
3
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Legal/academic article (law review) included in house oversight committee production
File Size:
1.61 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a page from a legal review or academic paper (dated 2014) discussing the legislative intent behind Crime Victims' Rights, specifically the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA). It quotes Senators Jon Kyl and Dianne Feinstein regarding the need to prevent 'secondary harm' to victims and allow their participation in the justice system. The page concludes by introducing the Jeffrey Epstein case as a specific illustration of legal issues surrounding victims' rights during the pre-charging phase.
People (6)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Kyl | Senator |
Quoted extensively regarding his motivation to join the crime victims' rights movement and the intent behind legislat...
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| Dianne Feinstein | Senator |
Cited in footnote 35 regarding a statement in the Congressional Record.
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| Jeffrey Epstein | Subject of Case Study |
Mentioned in section heading 'C' as an illustration of the 'pre-charging issue' regarding victims' rights.
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| Susan Bandes | Author |
Cited in footnote 34 regarding 'Victim Standing'.
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| Douglas Evan Beloof | Author |
Cited in footnote 38 regarding 'The Third Model of Criminal Process'.
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| Richard A. Bierschbach | Author |
Cited in footnote 38 regarding 'Allocution and the Purposes of Victim Participation'.
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Organizations (2)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Congress |
Discussed throughout the text regarding their intent in establishing victims' rights provisions.
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| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the Bates stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_014046'.
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Timeline (3 events)
Relationships (2)
Senator Kyl embodied this belief and explained his decision to become involved in the crime victims’ rights movement
AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRE-CHARGING ISSUE: THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE
Key Quotes (4)
"Congress viewed these provisions as establishing a victim’s right “to participate in the process where the information that [victims] and their families can provide may be material and relevant . . . .”"Source
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Quote #1
"were suffering through the trauma of the victimization and then being thrown into a system which they did not understand, which nobody was helping them with, and which literally prevented them from participation in any meaningful way."Source
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Quote #2
"Congress also intended to ensure that crime victims were not revictimized in the criminal justice process—that is, that they would not suffer what scholars have called 'secondary harm' in the process."Source
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Quote #3
"C. AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRE-CHARGING ISSUE: THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE"Source
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Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,779 characters)
2014] CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS 67
independent standing to assert.34 Congress viewed these provisions as establishing a victim’s right “to participate in the process where the information that [victims] and their families can provide may be material and relevant . . . .”35
Congress appears to have had both intrinsic and instrumental reasons for wanting crime victim participation. Congress clearly thought that such participation was valuable in its own right. Senator Kyl embodied this belief and explained his decision to become involved in the crime victims’ rights movement because of his discovery that victims:
were suffering through the trauma of the victimization and then being thrown into a system which they did not understand, which nobody was helping them with, and which literally prevented them from participation in any meaningful way. I came to realize there were literally millions of people out there being denied these basic rights . . . .36
But Congress also thought crime victim participation in the criminal justice system could be instrumentally useful. For example, in protecting a victim’s right to be heard by those determining a defendant’s sentence, a victim might be able to provide important information that could alter that sentence. As a result, the sentence might reflect a fuller appreciation of the danger posed by a defendant, and the judge might take appropriate steps to prevent others from being victimized.37
Congress also intended to ensure that crime victims were not revictimized in the criminal justice process—that is, that they would not suffer what scholars have called “secondary harm” in the process.38 The concern is that victims suffer when they are excluded from the criminal justice process. Congress sought to end that suffering by making victims meaningful participants in criminal cases.39
C. AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRE-CHARGING ISSUE: THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE
Given the potentially expansive scope of victims’ rights under both state provisions and the CVRA, a critical question arises about how to apply them: Do the rights come into existence only after prosecutors formally file
34 Compare 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d), with Susan Bandes, Victim Standing, 1999 UTAH L. REV. 331, 344–45 (illustrating the debate surrounding victim standing prior to adoption of the CVRA).
35 150 CONG. REC. 7296 (statement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein).
36 Id. at 7298 (statement of Sen. Jon Kyl).
37 Id.
38 See, e.g., Douglas Evan Beloof, The Third Model of Criminal Process: The Victim Participation Model, 1999 UTAH L. REV. 289, 294–96; Richard A. Bierschbach, Allocution and the Purposes of Victim Participation Under the CVRA, 19 FED. SENT’G REP. 44, 46 (2006).
39 150 CONG. REC. 7298 (statement of Sen. Jon Kyl).
35 150 CONG. REC. 7296 (statement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein).
36 Id. at 7298 (statement of Sen. Jon Kyl).
37 Id.
38 See, e.g., Douglas Evan Beloof, The Third Model of Criminal Process: The Victim Participation Model, 1999 UTAH L. REV. 289, 294–96; Richard A. Bierschbach, Allocution and the Purposes of Victim Participation Under the CVRA, 19 FED. SENT’G REP. 44, 46 (2006).
39 150 CONG. REC. 7298 (statement of Sen. Jon Kyl).
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_014046
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