NVCAN
National 
Victims' 
Constitutional 
Amendment 
Passage
NVCAP is a 501(c)(4) organization supporting the adoption of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizing the fundamental rights of crime victims to be treated with dignity, fairness and respect by the criminal justice system. Read more about NVCAP and the proposed constitutional amendment. 

Marsy's Law -- California's new VRA - Passes
Proposition 9, California's initiative to adopt a omprehensive Bill of Rights for victims -- "Marsy's Law" -- passed  by a 53-47 margin.

According to NVCAP's General Counsel Steve Twist, Marsy’s Law will be the most comprehensive Victim’s Bill of Rights in any state in the nation; indeed, in the history of the nation.  The initiative sets the standard for the rights to justice and due process for crime victims and challenges the U.S. Congress to make these rights available to all Americans. For the first time in California, victims will have meaningful and enforceable rights, including the rights:

  • To notice of all proceedings
  • To be present whenever the defendant has the right to be present
  • To be heard at critical stages … before the defendant is released after arrest, before a plea bargain is accepted by the court, before any sentence is imposed, before there is a parole, and any time their rights are at issue.
  • To have their safety considered before any release decisions are made and to know when the offender is being released or has escaped
  • To protect their confidential records
  • To refuse to submit to interrogations by the defendant or his lawyer before trial
  • To confer with the prosecutor
  • To be free from intimidation, harassment, or abuse, and to be treated with fairness and respect
  • To a speedy trial and to reasonable finality.
  • Victims would have an independent right to enforce these rights in any court.
  • It will require that victims be informed of their rights just like the defendants are given their Miranda rights.
  • It will provide the means to stop the regular nightmare of repeated opportunities for clearly dangerous offenders to be re-considered over and over again for parole.
  • It will secure for victims a meaningful opportunity to participate in parole proceedings and will set their safety and the safety of the public as the critical standard before release decisions are made.

Marsy’s law restores to victims an independent voice in a system that for too long has marginalized and silenced them.  Click here to read the entire proposal.

Crime Victims' Rights a Bipartisan Issue

Both the Republican and Democratic parties have once again included crime victims' rights in their platforms:

Republican Platform

"Protecting the Victims of Crime"

Twenty-six years ago, President Reagan’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, calling the neglect of crime victims a “national disgrace,” proposed a constitutional amendment to secure their formal rights. Today, that disgrace persists in courtrooms across the nation. Innocent victims ­ battered women, abused children, the loved ones of the murdered ­ still may not be told when their case is being heard. They can be excluded from the courtroom even when the defendant and his friends may be present. They have no right to a speedy trial, and a judge or parole board has no obligation to consider their personal safety in making release decisions. In short, the innocent have far fewer rights than the accused. We call on Congress to correct this imbalance by sending to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to protect the rights of crime victims. In addition, crime victims should be assured of access to legal and social services, and the Crime Victims Fund established under President Reagan should be used solely for that purpose.

Democratic Platform

We support the rights of victims to be respected, to be heard, and to be compensated.

Ending violence against women must be a top priority. We will create a special advisor to the president regarding violence against women. We will increase funding to domestic violence and sexual assault prevention programs. We will strengthen sexual assault and domestic violence laws, support the Violence Against Women Act, and provide job security to survivors. Our foreign policy will be sensitive to issues of aggression against women around the world.

On August 1, NVCAN Board Member David Voth spoke on behalf of crime victims' rights before the Democratic National Committee's Platform Drafting Committee. David's 5-minute statement spoke in favor of accountability to ensure that all victims of all crimes be treated with fairness, dignity and respect, at all governmental levels, regardless of the jurisdiction, by adoption of the federal Victims' Rights Amendment; funding to support VOCA, VAWA and FVPSA; and leadership by creation of an independent National Office for Victims of Crime.

Victims' Rights Education Toolkit

NVCAP's sister organization, NVCAN (National Victims Constitutional Amendment Network), recently completed preparation of a comprehensive Toolkit to help victims, witnesses and the American public better understand victims’ rights and how to exercise them. This Toolkit was designed with input from professionals and volunteers who include victims/survivors, victim assistance professionals, criminal justice professionals, and legal counsel. The Project conducted a series of group field interviews with crime victims/survivors, service providers, justice and other allied professionals in 12 states. The data resulting from this vital input from the field were collected and analyzed. In addition, a wide range of existing resources about victims’ rights – including laws, brochures, handbooks, and web sites – were reviewed to contribute to the development of the Toolkit. The Tools include:

  • Creating a Victims’ Rights Public Education Strategy Guidebook.
  • A Crime Victims’ Rights Miranda Card.
  • The Victims’ Rights Handbook.
  • A Victims’ Rights Brochure Kit.
  • A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Kit.
  • A Talking Points Kit.
  • Promising Practices in the Compliance and Enforcement of Victims’ Rights Kit.

Click here for the Victims' Rights Education project web page.

 

Oregon Voters Support Enforcement of Victims' Rights
On May 20, 2008 Oregon voters overwhelming ratified two amendments to its state constitution to enforce the state's victims' rights.  Measures 51 and 52 passed by nearly a 3-to-1 margin.

Federal Judiciary Considers Victims' Rights in Criminal Procedures

Leading victim advocates testified on January 26, 2007 on the need to amend the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure to recognize victims' rights and implement the Crime Victims Right Act (CVRA). Read the testimony of:

Justice for All Act/Crime Victims Rights Act

The "Justice for All" Act was signed into law on October 30, 2004. The law includes a modified version of Senate Bill 2329, the statutory alternative to the Federal Crime Victims' Rights Amendment. Click here for copy of the Act. Press Release by NVCAP, MADD, POMC and NOVA.

Text of S. 2329: [HTML][PDF]The Bill passed the Senate by a vote of 96-1. Read Explanatory Memo by NVCAP General Counsel Steve Twist.[Word][HTML][PDF]

 

 

Appeals Court Upholds CVRA Victims' Right to Speak at Sentencing

Message from OVC Director John Gillis:

On January 20, 2006 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion upholding the right of crime victims to speak at the convicted criminal's sentencing hearing.

The case involved a father and son who swindled dozens of victims. The two pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Over 60 victims submitted victim impact statements. At the father's sentencing, several victims spoke about the effects of the crimes--retirement savings lost, businesses bankrupted and lives ruined. Unfortunately, at the son's sentencing the judge in the United States District Court for the Central District of California refused to allow the victims to speak. He said, "I listened to the victims the last time . . . quite frankly, I don’t think there’s anything that any victim could say that would have any impact whatsoever." This attitude was shocking. President Bush spoke out against this attitude toward crime victims when he addressed an audience at the Department of Justice in 2002. The President said, "Too often, the financial losses of victims are ignored. And too often, victims are not allowed to address the court at sentencing and explain their suffering. . . ." The President went on to say, "When our criminal justice system treats victims as irrelevant bystanders, they are victimized for a second time."

Fortunately, the Court of Appeals held that the District Judge had made a mistake. In its decision, the Court of Appeals made three important points.

1. In passing the CVRA, it was the intent of Congress to allow crime victims to speak at sentencing hearings, not just submit victim impact statements.

2. Victims have a right to speak even if there is more than one criminal sentencing. This ruling is important in cases with multiple defendants. As the Court of Appeals noted, "The effects of a crime aren’t fixed forever once the crime is committed—physical injuries sometimes worsen; victims’ feelings change; secondary and tertiary effects such as broken families and lost jobs may not manifest themselves until much time has passed. The district court must consider the effects of the crime on the victims at the time it makes its decision with respect to punishment, not as they were at some point in the past."

3. The remedy for a crime victim denied the right to speak at a sentencing hearing is to have the sentence vacated and a new sentencing hearing held in which the victims are allowed to speak.

Again, we can celebrate this decision as an important step in securing the rights of crime victims.

Click here to view/download a copy of the Kenna Decision [PDF]

For additional information about NVCAP and the campaign for Victims' Rights click here to email NVCAP or contact us at 789 Sherman Street, Suite 670, Denver, CO 80203, Phone: (303) 832-1522, Toll-free: (800) 529-8226, Fax: (303) 861-1265 . Send comments on web site to web master.