Victim Rights

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Victim Rights

As a victim of crime you have the following rights:

To be provided with basic information on available services;
To be told about certain significant actions within the justice system pertaining to the victims' case. This includes the granting or denial of bail to an adult offender, the detention or release of a juvenile, the filing of a petition alleging delinquency, and the escape and subsequent apprehension of an adult prior to trial or a juvenile prior to adjudication;
To receive information of the availability of crime victim's compensation;
To be notified of the Address Confidentiality Program if eligible to apply;
To not be excluded from a criminal proceeding unless the court, based on the record before it, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at the proceeding.
To offer comment regarding a defendant's bail conditions at the time that bail conditions are imposed or at any subsequent proceeding where bail conditions may be modified.
To be accompanied at all proceedings by a family member, a victim advocate or other support person;
To give prior comment on the sentencing decision regarding an adult offender or the disposition of a delinquent child;
To receive help in preparing an oral and/or written victim impact statement detailing the physical, psychological and economic effects of the crime, which will be considered by the courts;
To be restored as one was before the crime, as much as possible, through restitution, have property returned that was seized as evidence but no longer needed for prosecution, and to receive assistance with preparing, submitting and follow-up with a claim for compensation;
To be notified of an adult offender's transfer from a state prison to a mental health facility and the discharge, transfer or escape of the adult offender from that facility;
To receive immediate notice of the release of an adult offender on bail who is incarcerated in a local prison for a violation of a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order, Sexual Violence Protection Order (SVPO), or Protection From Intimidation (PFI) order, or for a personal injury crime committed against the victim protected by the order;
To have notice and to provide prior comment on a judicial recommendation that the defendant participate in a motivational boot camp;
To have notice and provide comment on resentencing decisions regarding an offender;
To be notified of the disposition and sentence of an adult, including sentence modifications;
To have notice and provide prior comment on prosecutor's waiver of eligibility requirement of an offender to enter the Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive (RRRI) Program;
To be notified and provide comment if the court considers an offender to be eligible for participation in the State Drug Treatment Program;
To receive pre-parole notifications 90 days prior to parole date of offender;
To submit pre-parole statements regarding offender's parole supervision, including suggestions of special conditions, submit written petition to deny parole, and to appear in person or through representation to provide testimony before parole panel;
Receive notice of the parole board's decision before the offender's release.
To be present at trials and the execution of an offender; and
To receive notice of the arrest of a defendant for violating a PFA order.

Victims of personal injury crimes have the additional rights:

To receive notice of the arrest of a suspect or the filing or forwarding of a complaint relating to the crime;
By the victim's request, to receive notice when an adult offender is released from incarceration at sentencing;
To receive notice of an opportunity to give prior comment on and receive post-sentencing decisions involving an offender's release from a state prison, such as medical release, work release, furlough, parole, pardon or community treatment center placement;
To receive notice of and provide prior comment on recommendatioins sought by the Department of Corrections that an offender may participate in a motivational boot camp;
To receive notice of the release of an adult offender from a local correctional facility, including work release, medical release, furlough, parole, release from a boot camp or community treatment center placement;
To receive notice of, including location and time, a dispositional proceeding, if the prosecutor's office has advance notice of said proceeding;
To receive immediate notice of the escape of an adult offender and subsequent apprehension;
By the victim's request, to receive notice of the filing, hearing or disposition of appeals;
To receive notice of the commitment to a mental health institution from a state or local correctional institution;
To receive notice of the termination of the courts' jurisdiction;
To provide prior comment on work release or medical release of an offender from a state prison or local correctional facility; and
To give prior comment on the potential reduction or dropping of charges or any changes of a plea in a criminal or delinquency proceeding or diversion of a case, including an informal adjustment or a consent decree.

Victims of sexual assault have the additional rights:

To receive information concerning the availability of protection orders;
To have the confidential support of a counselor from a rape crisis center at the hospital during and after a forensic rape exam. (call 1-888-772-7227 to contact a local rape crisis center);
To have a sexual assault evidence kit collected and tested anonymously/without a name attached to it;
To have a sexual assault evidence kit collected and tested even if the exact location of the crime cannot be provided;
To not be billed or charged for the costs of a forensic exam or sexual assault evidence kit;
To have sexual assault evidence kept according to the statute of limitations; and
To be notified of the status of a sexual assault evidence kit, if requested, including at least 60 days prior to the destruction of evidence.

Victims of personal injury crime committed by a juvenile have the additional rights:

By the victim's request, to receive notice prior to the release of a juvenile from residential placement, a shelter facility, or a detention center;
By the victim's request, to be notified and have the opportunity to submit a written objection prior to the transfer or release from a placement facility of a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent, when such action is contrary to a previous court order or placement plan approved at a disposition review hearing;
By the victim's request, to be given immediate notice of a juvenile's escape from residential placement, a shelter facility or a detention center and subsequent apprehension;
By the victim's request, to submit written comment and oral testimony at a disposition review hearing.

Victims of crime committed by a juvenile have the additional rights:

To receive prior notice of delinquency hearings and notification of hearings about the transfer of a juvenile to and from criminal proceedings; and
To receive notice of the details of the final disposition of a juvenile's case.

Please contact a victim advocate if you do not understand any of the above mentioned rights. Please click on find a local Victim Service Program and click on the county where you want to find an advocate.

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