Crime Victims' Rights Under US Code 3771 - Essay Sample

Introduction

The bill of rights of victims of crime perpetrated in violation of the federal law is placed under section 3771 of the title of the United States Code (Tobolowsky, P. M. (2001). The statutory bill describes a victim of a crime as an individual who directly or indirectly was or is affected by the committed act of violence, including both living and artificial persons, i.e., legal entities such as institutions. The crime victims act accords the subject victim legal rights for protection against the system and the defendant. In exceptional cases such as a minor is involved and he or she happens to be the victim of a crime, a guardian to the minor victim maybe, if so approved by the court of law, assume the crime victims' rights. The privilege of a guardian assuming the rights of a minor can only be afforded to the victim of a crime and not the defendant by any means whatsoever. (Victims of crime act, 1970).

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The victims of crime act stipulate that the victims have to be protected from the defendant to avoid any incidences of victimization that may arise. The victim has a right to be informed of any court proceedings, or release of the accused the case. It would be so inconsiderate and against any victim of crime rights not being informed of such matters as an escape of the crime perpetrators. The law also grants the victim of crime the right not to be excluded from any court proceedings and hearings of their case of interest. However, if the court was to be convinced otherwise, that the presence of the victim of the crime may alter their statement, it may revoke this right. Apart from the mentioned rights, victims of crime have the following fundamental rights. The right to be heard in any court sittings, i.e., when giving of the verdict, a plea, or parole proceedings. The right to consult with a government advocate in the case. The right to receive justice in full and timely without unnecessary delays. The right to be treated humanely, possibly, and protecting the dignity of the victim. The right to information on a plea bargain that may take place or postponed sittings. And the right to be educated on these rights, as stated in section 4 of the Victims' Rights Act and given the address of the Ombudsman. (Giannini, 2007). This paper evaluates and critiques section 4 and 4.5 of the victims of crime act in depth putting into consideration different aspects of the bill and looking into possible amendments that could be done to improve the Bill. The paper will critically look into the issues addressed by the legislation, enforcement of the bill, touch on possible shortcomings of the bill and finally give suggestions or recommendation that could improve its viability.

Issues Addressed By the Legislation

Section 4.5 of the victims of the criminal act is a victim and witness notification system, put in place to ensure that information reaches the concerned parties. The information must be in the most convenient and timely manner, paying strict attention to the victims of crimes act without any form of its violation or infringement of the rights to information. Under the act, the Attorney General is required under the law to put in place an information system by using the available resources, including technological resources and human resources. Information from relevant source should be assembled and downloaded into the system's computers where it is to be maintained and updated accordingly and conveyed to the victims of crime, their guardians, or witnesses via telephone, mail, or in written form with due diligence.

Viability of the Proposed Legislation

Section 4.5 of the victims of crime act also provides the necessary guidelines to ensure legislation works in practice. To ensure the effectiveness of the system, proper operational coordination of different legal bodies directly involved in the justice system need to be conducted, and measures that ensure compliance installed. The departments directly involved in this system are the department of rehabilitation, the Department of Human resource, and the prison Review Board. The pre-mentioned departments have to co-operate with the department of the Attorney-general fully. For the system to be effective, the Attorney General must appoint members who wish to join the task force from relevant departments and provide the necessary equipment. This could be computers, telephones, and training if necessary. Access to the established database of the system must also be granted. Other than that, it is crucial for any rules and regulations that help maintain sanity and keep the check and balances needed to make the system effective. Therefore the Attorney-general, with his team of trustees, must come up with the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of every participant of the task force. The Attorney-general with his/her team of trustees, has to regularly review the effectiveness and operation of the system and make relevant adjustments when needed. With all these checks and balances, it is improbable that the system would fail. This level of coordination hence, a perfect information system will ensure information is passed to the crime victims in time and effectively, thus ensuring the victim's right to information does not get violated.

Enforcement of the Bill

Notably, the victims of crime act, (1970) have well-stipulated guidelines and methods on how to ensure information is captured from the immediate sources stored and conveyed to the victims or their trustees in the most effective was possible. It includes an assertion and enforcement segment which grants the victim's attorney the authority to request for the enforcement of the victims right either orally in open court or by filing a motion in the case outside the attendance of the judges. However, in case of violation, this section has no specific ways of enforcing the victims' rights. Breach, in this case, may arise when an officer fails either deliberately or innocently does not pass the relevant information to the victim of crime, or conveys the information passed the required timelines as it should be. The section does not give any remedies or causes of action to be taken in case a violation occurs. (Tobolowsky, P. M. (2001). This undoing leaves room for laxity among the employees as no punitive steps are taken in case failure to do duty, although this might have a negative impact on the victim. This is because their right to information would have been violated and maybe affect their case at the end of it all.

Enforcement in this bill could be made stronger if offered remedies in case of violation of this fundamental right. For instance, if an officer entrusted with the duty to inform the victim of crime fails to do so due to negligence, they ought to be fined. Secondly, the clerks should be entitled to some compensation for the job done instead of this being a voluntary service. In addition to that, a special and vulnerable population, which includes victims below the age of eighteen years, especially handicapped and the ailing (victims of crime act, 1970), must be accorded exclusive rights and power over their cases. For instance, no case should be allowed to proceed with critical matters such as parole or release of defendants without acknowledgment of prior information by the Attorney General's office.

Shortcomings of the Bill

Despite the mechanism and effort put in place to adhere to the victims of crime act specifically the right to information, the bill leaves loopholes in itself. For instance, if an officer of the court fails to convey information to the victim, he or she is undoubtedly denied the very right to information that this bill advocates for. In my opinion, this is a violation of the victim of crime act, and yet no compensation or remedy in case of negligence is provided.(villmoare et al., 1987) With this missing right, there is a risk of more cases of victims of crime being denied the right to information time and again. Sadly, the bill does not hold any of its executors liable in the case of this right being violated.

Recommendations

Section 4 and 4.5 of the victims of crime act is so far one of the best bills that aim at protecting of the victims' rights. However the bill should be amended to include clauses that provide retribution in case of violation of this right. Violation due to negligence from the officer in charge of notifying the victim, should be treated as an offence and the victim remedied accordingly. This will ensure that information is conveyed in time without delays, and the victims' rights are respected and adhered to fully. To make this happen, the service should not be voluntary, as it would be unrealistic, wanting more out of a workforce that is not well compensated for service done. (Parness, J. A., Lee, L., & Blouin, K, 2009).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the information bill aligns with the following common victims of rights; the right to be informed of any legal proceedings affecting the victim of a crime such as parole, rehabilitation, release, and release of the perpetrator and the right to be treated with dignity and accorded with respect. This bill aims at ensuring the victims of crime are informed in time and conveniently through the available technology and conveyed with properly reviewed information coming from the relevant departments' hence accurate and reliable information. (Kilpatrick, DG el al 1998). However for the bill to be more effective, a serious amendment especially touching on violation of section 4 and 4.5 of the victims of crime act must be done.

References

Giannini, M. M. (2007). Equal Rights for Equal Rites: Victim Allocution, Defendant Allocution, and the Crime Victims' Rights Act. Yale L. & Pol'y Rev., 26, 431.

Parness, J. A., Lee, L., & Blouin, K. (2009). Monetary Remedies for Victims During Illinois

Tobolowsky, P. M. (2001). Crime victim rights and remedies (pp. 36-39). Carolina Academic Press.Criminal Cases. Val. UL, Rev., 44, 69.

Kilpatrick, D. G., Beatty, D., & Hawley, S. S. (1998). The rights of crime victims: Does legal protection make a difference?. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Victims of crime act, Compiled statues of Illinois.(1970). Retrieved from Illinois General Assembly website http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1970&ChapterID=54

Villmoare, E., Neto, V. V., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, & The United States of America. (1987). Victim appearances at sentencing hearings under the California Victims' Bill of Rights-Final report. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office