Policy Text
SUMMARY OF YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
To preserve and protect the rights of crime victims to achieve justice, and to ensure a meaningful role
throughout the criminal and juvenile systems for crime victims.
To have your rights and interest respected and protected by law.
To due process and to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim’s dignity.
To be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse.
To be reasonably protected from the accused and any person acting on behalf of the accused within the
judicial process.
To have the safety and welfare of you and your family considered when setting bail and pretrial release
conditions.
To prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass you on your
family or which could disclose your confidential or privileged information.
A victim shall have the following specific rights upon request:
Reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of, and to be present at, all public proceedings involving the
criminal conduct, including, but not limited to, trial, plea, sentencing, or adjudication, even if the
victim will be a witness at the proceeding, notwithstanding any rule to the contrary;
Reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any release or escape of the defendant or delinquent, and
any proceeding during which a right of the victim is implicated;
To be heard in any public proceeding involving pretrial or other release from any form of legal
constraint, plea, sentencing, adjudication, or parole, and any proceeding during which a right of the
victim is implicated;
To confer with the prosecuting attorney concerning any plea agreements, participation in pretrial
diversion programs, release, restitution, sentencing, or any other disposition of the case;
To provide information regarding the impact of the offender’s conduct on you or your family to the
court or person conducting any presentence investigation or presentence investigation report, and
to have the information considered in any sentencing recommendations submitted to the court;
To receive a copy of any presentence report, and any other report or record relevant to the exercise
of a victim’s right, except for such portions made confidential or exempt by law;
To be informed that victims can seek the advice of an attorney with respect to their rights.
To be informed of the conviction, sentence, adjudication, place and time of incarceration, or other
disposition of the convicted offender, any scheduled release date of the offender, and the release
of or the escape of the offender from custody.
To be informed of all post-conviction processes and procedures, to participate in such processes and
procedures, to provide information to the release authority to be considered before any release
decision is made, and to be notified of any release decision regarding the offender;
To be informed of clemency and expungement procedures, to provide information to the governor,
the court, any clemency board, and other authority in these procedures, and to have that information
considered before a clemency or expungement decision is made; and to be notified of such decision
in advance of any release of the offender;
To the prompt return of your property when no longer needed as evidence in the case;
To proceedings free from unreasonable delay, and to a prompt and final conclusion of the case and
any related post-judgment proceedings;
To be informed of these rights;
To seek the advice of an attorney with respect to their rights;
To assert and seek enforcement of these rights and any other right afforded to a victim by law and
to have the court or other authority with jurisdiction act promptly on such a request and to seek
remedy for the violation of any right.
The victim has the right to timely notice of all appearances and these rights are satisfied by a
reasonable attempt by the appropriate agency to notify the victim and convey the victim’s views to
the court.
WHO IS A VICTIM?
A “victim” is a person who suffers direct or threatened physical, psychological or financial harm as a result
of the commission or attempted commission of a crime or delinquent act.
The term ”victim” includes the victim’s lawful representative, the parent or guardian of a minor, or the
next of kin of a homicide victim, except upon a showing that the interest of such individual would be in
actual or potential conflict with the interest of the victim.