Research has shown that criminal victimizations often lead to serious psychological consequences and are often traumatizing. Epidemiological studies show that the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is high among victims of violent crimes. This article examines two studies that were conducted to determine the effects of retraumatization from attendance at trials of perpetrators. Retraumatization is defined as a significant increase in the frequency of posttraumatic stress reactions to the original trauma. Study 1 was a cross-sectional analysis of long-term effects of trials and tested the hypothesis that trial variables predict the frequency of posttraumatic stress reactions among victims involved in a trial several years previously. The second study was a longitudinal analysis of short-term effects of trials that tested whether significant changes in posttraumatic stress reactions occur and whether trial variables predict change. Data for the first study were obtained from a sample of 137 victims of violent crimes who had received assistance from a German victim assistance association and in whose case an actual trial had taken place. The study measured posttraumatic stress reactions, eight subjective trial variables, and victimological variables. Data for the second study were obtained from 31 individuals who had received assistance from the same German victim assistance association as in study 1. These individuals completed two questionnaires: once before the trial and once after the trial. The study measured the frequency of posttraumatic stress reactions and the trial variables identical to those in study 1 for the purposes of correlation analysis. The results of study 1 showed that trial variables did not predict posttraumatic stress reactions several years after the trial; these findings correspond with findings from earlier studies. In addition, the results of study 2 showed that posttraumatic stress reactions did not increase even in the first weeks after a trial. These results suggest that trials of perpetrators do not cause retraumatization among the victims involved in either the long- or the short-term. Study limitations are discussed. 4 tables and 25 references