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Victim and Witness Rights: United States Attorneys' Responsibilities

NCJ Number
175037
Author(s)
J Melius
Date Published
1999
Length
124 pages
Annotation
This document is intended as a desk reference that provides an overview of the laws and rules applicable to crime victims and witnesses; it is intended for use by victim-witness coordinators and advocates, Assistant United States Attorneys, and other United States Attorneys' office professionals who work with victims and witnesses.
Abstract
The materials are predominantly organized chronologically; substantive information and related statutes are grouped together where logical. Each chapter begins with a summary of the laws relevant to that chapter, followed by selected case summaries where the statutes were applied, and the text of the statutes. Individual chapters focus on definitions of victim, Attorney General Guidelines, the Victim Witness Protection Act of 1982, the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32 and victim impact statements and allocution. Further chapters focus on the Crime Control Act of 1990, the Victims' Rights Clarification Act of 1997, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Further chapters focus on laws related to child victims and witnesses and to restitution. Index and list of points of contact at the Department of Justice