...Victims Rights Cindy Brister Ethics in Criminal Justice/CJS211 Edward Hastings August 3, 2015 In America there is a law that is called victims rights. Within those laws gives the people whom are victims of crimes certain rights. A victim is someone whom was hurt, injured, harmed, or killed due to a crime, accident, or any other event or action. Victims rights is a law set in place by the government that allows the victim to be able to have information, protection, and a limited role in the criminal proceedings. While every state varies a little on the victims right they all are in place to protect a victim in a crime. Victim's right's is great law that is put in place to help victims deal with crimes that are committed against them. The victim did not asked to be violated and should be protected at all cost. They should have a voice and be heard. Victims rights consist of right to be treated with dignity, respect, and sensitivity. They have the right to be informed of what is going on with the criminal proceedings. They have the right to protection such as police escorts, witness protection programs, relocation, and restraining orders. Victims also has the right to apply for compensation. Such as medical or counseling expense, lost wages, funeral expenses. Victims has the right to restitution from an offender. Such as lost wages, property loss, insurance deductibles.They have the right to prompt return of their personal property. They have the right to a speedy trial. And they...
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...Victims’ Rights and Vengeance Terence Goodman CJA/ 324 July 8, 2013 Keith Lima Victims’ Rights and Vengeance From the civil rights era of the 50’s and 60’s, I feel that victim’s rights have come a very long way. I know monetary compensation can never make up for a person civil rights being violated but that will help with any financial burden they may or potentially will have in the future. Programs like President Reagan’s National Victims’ Rights Week are good for spreading awareness to the situation while helping victims navigate the criminal justice system. A major contributor to victims’ rights can be credited to the success of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA). I see this as a success because it helps gives victims a voice in which they can come together and enforce their rights so change can be made to better theirs and others circumstances. Not only is this program important for helping to fight for their rights but it also serve as a means of helping individuals get back on their feet. In my opinion, since “we the people” are the ones that write and enforce the laws, I think in some cases vengeance should be taken into consideration. Why not change a few laws to cater to the family of an individual that has fallen victim to a senseless crime. For example: is it fair that a person goes to jail for 20 years for taking an innocent persons life? No! There should be new laws set in place for the victim’s family with the assistance of law enforcement to enact...
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...Victims’ Rights and Vengeance My personal stance on the current state of victims’ right in America is that even though rules have been changed in different states to protect the victims’ right there are still some things that need to be improved to help their safety. More should be done to help improve the safety of victims’ and their families from harm. There are so many victims that are unable to voice their words on things they see because they are afraid of something happening to them or their family. I do believe that the 2004 Crime Victims’ Right Acts has been successful because if it was not for Victims’ Right Acts, the victim and family would suffer greatly and victimizing will continue. The right to be reasonably protected from the accused, the right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused has helped victims since 2004 (Justice,2013). In my opinion it is not good to try to get revenge on someone because it can come back and hunt you or hurt you. When someone tries to get revenge back, that person is just as bad as the person who did harm first. Now, when it comes to children being harm by someone it is very hard not to react against the suspect with revenge because you want to see that person pay. Depending on your actions can cause the suspect to get acquitted or cause harm to the family. I do agree with the actions of Survivors Network of those...
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...Victims’ Rights and Vengeance Amanda Furniss CJS/211 August 11, 2015 Melissa Andrewjeski When it comes to Victims’ rights and vengeance, a lot has changed since victims’ rights first came about to the justice system. I believe that when it comes to a case, trial, and the decisions that are made, the victim has many rights. I do believe that the victim has the right to be kept up to date on any info concerning the suspect, any charges, any new trial dates, and any changes to the case. I also believe that the victims’ opinion on what the sentencing to the suspect is and should be important and considered when deciding the suspects sentencing. Not necessarily charging the offender with what the victim wants but taken into consideration. By the victims’ rights law allowing the victim to be present for the case proceedings, and plea bargains it gives the victim a voice in the case. The victims’ rights law allows the victim to voice their case to the court on the situation. It involves the Victim in the case now more than what the victim was back in the past. With all the changes that have been made to the Victims’ Rights Act, I can say I am happy with the changes. I feel as if the victims’ voice actually matters. The victim has the right to be heard just as much as anyone else. The 2004 Criminal Victims’ Rights Act opened more possibilities for the victim and I believe it has been more successful for the most part. I am on the fence though, with the part where...
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...Victims’ Rights and Vengeance Rudy Vasquez CJS/211 June-06-2016 Victims’ Rights and Vengeance In today’s justice system victims of crimes and family members who have been affected, have more rights than they have ever had in the past and they are able to let their concerns, pains, and emotions be heard. In 2002, a cousin around the same age of myself was shot multiple times on a busy street in central Fresno and a few short hours later, died in the hospital. At the time of the trial I was stationed in Japan and was not able to attend the court proceedings, because of my distance, my family asked me to write a letter to the judge. I was under the impression that it was just in case the judge was able to get around to it that he or she would. I wrote my emotional letter and eventually the case ended with the accused being sent to prison for a few years. In 2012 while I was deployed in Afghanistan, a horrible thing happened to a very young niece of mine. A family member was sent to jail, multiple families were torn apart, and months of court dates followed. I returned towards the end of the court proceedings, and the lawyer asked multiple family members to write letters of describing the emotional stresses that have occurred and how lives have been affected by this act of misplaced and horrible misuse of trust and if they would be able to read them in court in order to help with sentencing. Everyone let their emotions flow and sadness and grief took the...
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...VICTIM RIGHTS, ADVOCACY, AND JUSTICE IN OUR POST-9/11 NATION Though there had been terrorist attacks in the United States prior to September 11, 2001, the events on that day in the skies above America, and in the cities of Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Shanksville, PA led to an unprecedented focus on the rights of victims and survivors, and historical expectations were placed upon our government as Americans looked to our leaders for protection, reparations, and justice. In some estimation, our government reacted swiftly, passing legislative measures that would reinforce the strength of the American economy. In other respects, individuals found it necessary to form private groups to advocate for measures and benefits that would not otherwise have become law without their fight. Certainly, in the realm of victim rights, advocacy, and the demand for justice, our post-9/11 nation has endured a dramatic metamorphosis. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund was created by Congress through the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 USC 40101), shortly after 9/11 to compensate victims (or their families) of the attack, should they agree not to sue. There was no such government compensation for other tragedies on American soil, such as the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City or the Katrina hurricane disaster. In this instance, the airlines asked Congress for help, and Congress decided that the airline industry “must remain...
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...Victims’ Rights Jessie Turner, Jr. CJA 394 January 19, 2016 Kristi Garcia Introduction Victims’ Rights in America are a significant entitlement for people who become victims of wrongdoing. In this paper victims’ rights of Louisiana will be the topic of discussion in identifying the existence of victim rights laws within the state. The discussion will also talk about the impact of victims’ rights laws on state criminal proceedings. The last discussion for this paper will compare and contrast Louisiana victims’ rights laws to those in the federal criminal justice system. The ultimate take away from this paper will be the significant improvements toward victims’ needs. Victims’ Rights Since the implementation of victims’ rights laws there has been major improvements toward the needs of victims overall. In the beginning the focus was on the rights for individuals who had access to resources to fight being a victim. Today the rights center on all victims no matter the background, to ensure they are heard and not ignored. The rigths have also made very important movements to ensure that victims’ rights aren’t violated eliminated the notion that victims don’t matter. This is one reason why we have federal and state laws enforcing the need to help victims of wrongdoing. The 2004 Crime Victims’ Right Act (CRVA) has been successful in various ways of an established set of rights known as standing. Those rights were known as the third wave of enforcing victims’ rights in federal...
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...Victims’ Rights CJA 324 July 26, 2015 Introduction to Victim’s Rights As a nation we have both state and federal laws that establish a set of rights for victims of crime. Although these laws vary depending on the jurisdiction of the crime being investigated, they give victims the right to have certain information regarding their case, afford the victim a limited role in the process of seeking out justice, as well as granting special protections for the victim. Some states only recognize a victim as in individual who was harmed during the commission of a serious offense, or a felony, while other states grant victims’ rights to any individual harmed during a criminal act, whether it was a misdemeanor or a felony ("The National Center for Victims of Crime", 2012). Personal Stance While victims’ rights have come a long way over the years there is still a much longer way to go to go before we reach a point where victims are treated better than the criminals who committed the crime against them. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime (2012), “All states provide crime victim compensation to reimburse victims of violent crime for some of the out-of-pocket expenses that resulted from the crime. The purpose of compensation is to recognize victims' financial losses and to help them recover some of these costs. All states have a cap on the total compensation award for each crime, and not all crime-related expenses are covered. To be eligible for compensation...
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...Victims’ Rights CJA 324 July 26, 2015 Introduction to Victim’s Rights As a nation we have both state and federal laws that establish a set of rights for victims of crime. Although these laws vary depending on the jurisdiction of the crime being investigated, they give victims the right to have certain information regarding their case, afford the victim a limited role in the process of seeking out justice, as well as granting special protections for the victim. Some states only recognize a victim as in individual who was harmed during the commission of a serious offense, or a felony, while other states grant victims’ rights to any individual harmed during a criminal act, whether it was a misdemeanor or a felony ("The National Center for Victims of Crime", 2012). Personal Stance While victims’ rights have come a long way over the years there is still a much longer way to go to go before we reach a point where victims are treated better than the criminals who committed the crime against them. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime (2012), “All states provide crime victim compensation to reimburse victims of violent crime for some of the out-of-pocket expenses that resulted from the crime. The purpose of compensation is to recognize victims' financial losses and to help them recover some of these costs. All states have a cap on the total compensation award for each crime, and not all crime-related expenses are covered. To be eligible for compensation...
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...CJA/324 12/22/14 Victims’ Rights and Vengeance I believe that current state of victims’ right in America is better than it has been in the past thirty years. Thirty years ago, victims had few legal rights to be informed, present and heard within the criminal justice system. Victims did not have to be notified of court proceedings or of the arrest or release of the defendant, they had no right to attend the trial or other proceedings, and they had no right to make a statement to the court at sentencing or at other hearings. Moreover, victim assistance programs were virtually non-existent. Today, every state has an extensive body of basic rights and protections for victims of crime within its statutory code. Victims' rights statutes have significantly influenced the manner in which victims are treated within the federal, state, and local criminal justice systems. I believe that the 2004 Crimes Victims’ Rights Act has been effective to some extent. The CRVA helps victims assert and encourage enforcement of victims’ rights. It promotes compliance with victims’ rights laws. Funds grant programs and other activities to implement provisions. Provides an enforcement mechanism for rights delineated in the Act. The CRVA may legitimately consider to go too far and give victims undue rights at the expense of a fair trial. For instance, it allows them to “be heard" at any proceedings related to the offence, regardless as to whether or not their input is relevant or appropriate. It...
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...In this paper the student will describe the roles and functions of the prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal, and victim in the criminal justice system. The student will then summarize the affects of victimization on each role. Also, the following questions will be answered by the student: What are the goals of sentencing associated with each role, and what are the goals of alternative sanctions? Finally, the student will discuss personal recommendations regarding victims’ rights. The main role of the prosecutor is to get a state conviction in criminal proceedings. At times of private practice, present a case in defense of the victim and other parties wronged by a criminal. Also, the prosecutor must prove without question that the defendant is the one at fault. The prosecutor at times, seeks to resolve the case with a plea bargain. The plea bargain is a prosecutions best tool. The plea bargain closes the case as quickly as it opened, and the prosecution team gets win without having to rely on a jury or argument. The main role of the defense attorney is to come to the aid of the accused and provide a competent defense or defenses to prove the innocence of the accused. During the plea bargain the defense attorney is trying to get the best deal for the client being represented by the defense. The plea bargain is a good tool for the defense as well. Even though the pea bargain can count as a lose the defense attorney secures two objectives with it. First objective is the...
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...The cannibal cop: GILBERTO VALLE Jennifer Jones Dec-6-15 C.J.S/211 Col. Jack Shippee Gilberto Vale the man once known as the cannibal cop went on line fantasizing about raping, torchering, and murdering his wife along with other woman. He plotted with three other men there was the sadistic security guard the murderes mechanic and the loathing librarian. They talked for months about what they wanted to do. Gilberts wife was horrified After she saw on his computer what he wanted to do to her. “I was going to be tied up by my feet and my throat slit and they would have fun watching the blood gush out of me because I was young,” the wife of 28-year-old NYPD “cannibal cop” Gilberto Valle testified at his trial. She found that her husband planned to stuff one of her friends in a suitcase and murder her. Two other women were “going to be raped in front of each other to heighten their fears,” while another would be roasted alive over an open fire. Planned? Or fantasized? There’s no evidence that Officer Valle, on trial for conspiracy to kidnap, torture, kill and eat women, ever acted on his voreaphilia, a cannibalism fetish. If convicted, however, he faces up to 20 years in prison. George Orwell called it thought crime punishing people for their thoughts rather than their actions. The case of the cannibal cop or, more accurately, the wannabe cannibal cop is a perfect illustration of why a society can be tempted to try to monitor what goes on in people’s brains, and to...
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...Court Issues and Victims’ Rights Court Structures and Issues In the 1920s, one of the reasons for the creation of municipal courts was to relief the congestion of cases within the superior courts. The 1998 decision by California to eliminate municipal courts was to provide more judges at the superior court level. The thought was that it could help reduce the caseload at superior courts. Therefore, 70 years later we are back to the way it was before. Many dynamics lead to those two decisions. Criminal behavior in our society continues to change and public pressure drives the need to change laws. Both those changes were made for different reasons and had merit when they were being implemented. There are advantages and disadvantages to the 1998 proposal to consolidate. In addition, to implement the change the court administrators needed to take actions that would help make the consolidation work. Caseloads are still on the rise so an additional recommendation was to create specialized courts that benefit the community. Advantages of Consolidating Municipal and Superior Court The state funds trial courts. Depending on the jurisdiction, those courts are called city courts, municipal courts, county courts, circuit courts, courts of common pleas, district courts, or magistrate courts. Technically, most of the lower courts are not part of the state judicial structure because they are the creation of, and funded by, either city or county governments. In several states, judges of...
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...rape case had caused the biggest controversy in the history of media news in India. Because everyone all over India was doing a candle stand for the victim. There were five guys that had raped the girl. She was going home with her guy friend at 8:30 after watching a movie they were not able to find a taxi so decided to go on a bus. They injured the guy so much and threw him out the bus and all the five guys raped and injured every part of her bone and insides so bad that within 23 hour she had gone through five surgeries. Recently one of the journalist interviewed the victims and they said the girl provoked them to rape her she is a girl she is not supposed to roam around at night time and shouldn’t be wearing short clothes. It’s actually very sad to see how people still think so down about women. Even though that women power the world now they are smarter than men and they are willing to do anything nowadays. They care of a child alone and raise them right. Young girls continue to be victims of incestuous assault in their homes; if a woman walks alone at night, she walks in endless fear; our judicial system continues to put a victim of rape through a humiliating process in which she, absurdly, must prove her innocence. (Ford, 1982) Rape is often a very traumatic experience, which affects not only the primary victim (PV) but also his/her...
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...did commit a battery upon the victim herein identified as Angelina Enciso did intentionally touch or strike Mauricio Valdez against his will. Angelina Enciso had intentionally caused bodily harm to Maurico Valdez. It should be noted that Mauricio and Angelina Enciso are both in a romantic relationship, and reside as a family (approximately 15 years). Mauricio Valdez and Angelina Enciso have three child in common; W/M 09-25-2005, W/F 01-19-2008 and 06-25-2012. On the above...
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