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Civil Justice Practitioners
Resources
For Victims
Civil Justice for Victims of Crime
Gives crime victims and those who work with them a basic understanding of the civil justice system and makes them aware of civil justice options.
Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website
Allows users to identify the location of known sex offenders in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and participating tribes.
LawHelp.Org
Helps low- and moderate-income people find free legal aid programs in their communities and answers to questions about their legal rights. The site provides state listings for housing, work, family, bankruptcy, disability, and immigration resources.
A Survivor’s Guide to Filing a Civil Law Suit
Includes definitions related to civil lawsuits and information on the advantages and disadvantages of filing a civil suit (personal, financial, and legal factors) and discusses the role of attorneys and how to select one. Civil lawsuit procedures are outlined and explained.
WomensLaw.org
Includes sections on staying safe, knowing the laws, preparing for court, learning about abuse, and helping others, among other information.
For Providers
California Superior Court’s Legal Glossaries
Provides comprehensive legal glossaries in many different languages.
Civil Protection Orders: Victims’ Views on Effectiveness
Summarizes a research study that has shown that the effectiveness of civil protection orders for victims of family violence depends on how specific and comprehensive the orders are and how well they are enforced.
Confidentiality and Sexual Violence Survivors: A Toolkit for State Coalitions
Includes chapters on state and federal privileged communications statutes, rape shield laws, sources of privacy for victims, confidentiality waivers, discovery issues and confidentiality, public records, mandatory reporting, anonymous victims, and privacy considerations for specific populations.
Cornell Legal Research Encyclopedia
Provides legal research material by subject and country.
The Crime Victim's Right To Be Present
Reviews state laws addressing the rights of victims to attend criminal justice proceedings, particularly trials, and how their presence might affect the rights of defendants.
A Criminal Justice Guide: Legal Remedies for Adult Victims of Sexual Violence
Provides comprehensive information for survivors' rights in the context of a criminal prosecution and how to enforce those rights.
Enforcement of Protective Orders
Reviews state laws and issues related to the enforcement of protective orders.
Family and Medical Leave Act
Provides a synopsis of the law, compliance assistance materials, fact sheets, forms, tools, and other resources.
FindLaw
Provides a search engine for legal resources nationwide.
Global Legal Information Network
Serves as a database of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations.
Guidebook for Immigrant Victims
Provides basic information and a comprehensive referral list for documented and undocumented immigrants who are victims of crime.
Immigration Benchbook for Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Covers lawful permanent residence under the Violence Against Women Act, U And T visas, asylum and other ways non-citizens can obtain lawful status, adult criminal convictions, and immigration resources.
Immigrant Populations as Victims: Toward a Multicultural Criminal Justice System
Summarizes findings from a study about the criminal justice system's approach to immigrant victims of crime and barriers that prohibit immigrants from reporting crimes.
Immigration, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
Provides legal information for immigrants who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and those who are HIV-positive.
Impact Statements: A Victim's Right To Speak, A Nation's Responsibility To Listen
Discusses the state of victims' rights in the United States and focuses on the right to submit victim impact statements. It examines the effectiveness of victim impact statements, proposes models for implementing these statements in states that do not yet provide for them, and discusses various aspects of victimization and social services for victims.
The Justice for All Act
Focuses on the component of the act that specifies crime victims' rights.
Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Recipients' Policy Guidebook, Fiscal Year 2005
Provides information on activities that may enhance or compromise victim safety, sexual assault issue spotting, and sample forms for civil legal intake sessions and releases of information.
National Evaluation of the Legal Assistance for Victims Program
Serves as the final report on the national evaluation of the Federal Legal Assistance for Victims grant program, which is intended to increase the capacity of local organizations to provide free or low-cost, comprehensive civil legal and advocacy services to victims of domestic violence. The program also addresses the needs of victims of sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.
National Victim Assistance Academy Textbook, Chapter 5, Section 1: Civil Remedies
Covers the distinctions between the criminal and civil justice systems, the basics of civil litigation, types of lawsuits typically brought by victims, defenses to civil litigation, damages in civil lawsuits, benefits and limitations of victim civil litigation, and recommendations regarding civil remedies for victim service providers and allied professionals.
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century, Civil Remedies
Presents promising practices and recommendations related to civil remedies for crime victims.
No Free Pass To Harass: Protecting the Rights of Undocumented Immigrant Women Workers in Sexual Harassment Cases
Includes information on retaliation, developing a strategy to exclude immigration status information, introducing and obtaining evidence in litigation, anticipating relevance arguments, bifurcating proceedings into liability and damages phases, privileges to protect immigration status information, in camera disclosure and confidentiality agreements, motions in limine, using pseudonyms, and how workers might qualify for legal immigration status.
Ordering Restitution to the Crime Victim
Reviews state laws that address victims' rights to receive court-ordered restitution from offenders in criminal cases.
Rights and Remedies: Meeting the Civil Legal Needs of Sexual Violence Survivors
Includes chapters on victims' civil legal issues for safety and protection, safe housing, employment, education, tort liability, and tribal issues.
Sexual Violence Legal News Online
Summarizes the latest changes in relevant law as a result of court decisions. The summaries are also kept online in a searchable database. Most of the cases currently in the database involve issues of criminal law and procedure or of evidence.
Social Security Privacy Legislation
Provides a chart that lists state laws throughout the country addressing social security number privacy.
Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking in Civil Protection Order Cases
Includes information on culturally competent representation, effective client communication, client safety, scope of representation and procedures for intake, and hearings.
State Law Guide: Workplace Restraining Orders
Reviews state laws (proposed and enacted) that allow employers to apply for restraining orders to protect their employees.
Statutory Summary Charts
Summarizes state statutes regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, and trafficking.
Tools for Pro Bono Recruitment: A Resource Guide
Covers legal considerations, recruitment, training, and retention of pro bono relationships.
Tribal Resources, Tribal Law Journal
Provides tribal government information and links to other indigenous resources.
Understanding Rape Shield Laws
Discusses rape shield laws.
Victim Assistance Online (VAOnline.org)
Links to hundreds of organizations, agencies, and institutions that serve victims.
VictimLaw
Features more than 15,000 victims' rights statutes, tribal laws, constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, attorney general opinions, and case summaries of related court decisions.
Victims' Bill of Rights
Links to Web sites within states that outline the rights of crime victims.
National Organizations
American Bar Association's Commission on Domestic Violence
Increases access to justice for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Serves as the comprehensive training and technical assistance provider to more than 100 colleges and universities throughout the country that are recipients of the Office on Violence Against Women's (OVW) Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program.
The Center for Survivor Agency and Justice
Cultivates a community of attorneys and advocates who are skilled in survivor-centered advocacy and capable of meeting the entire spectrum of civil legal assistance needs of survivors.
Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence
Seeks to end partner violence, focusing on the workplace. Its Web site includes articles on workplace violence, best practices, and links.
Institute for Law and Justice
Provides consulting services and conducts research, training, and evaluation in criminal justice issues.
Legal Momentum
Works to promote the rights of women and girls, covering issues such as employment, housing, immigrant women, teen dating abuse, and intimate partner violence.
National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards
Helps assist crime victims financially. Its Web site links to state victim compensation agencies.
National Center on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Provides training and consultation to address domestic and sexual violence. Its Web site links to training opportunities, resources, and news.
National Center for State Courts
Helps courts improve the administration of justice. Its Web site includes links to state courts, among other resources.
National Conference of State Legislatures
Serves the legislators and staff of the Nation's 50 states, its commonwealths, and territories by providing research, technical assistance, and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on state issues. Its Web site provides information on privacy issues for social security numbers. It also includes a list of victims' rights statutes nationally, including newly enacted legislation.
The National Crime Victim Bar Association
Provides technical support to attorneys representing crime victims in civil actions, refers crime victims to lawyers in their local areas, and works to increase general awareness about the availability of civil remedies for victims of crime.
National Crime Victim Law Institute
Promotes a fair and balanced criminal justice system through legal education, legal scholarship, and legal information, resources, and advocacy. Its Web site provides legal information on victims' rights, confidentiality, criminal justice, civil justice, and pro bono recruitment.
National Immigration Law Center
Protects and promotes the rights of low-income immigrants and their family members.
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
Includes information on housing, human rights, civil rights, and domestic violence.
National Organization for Victim Assistance
Includes victim and witness assistance programs and practitioners, criminal justice agencies and professionals, mental health professionals, researchers, former victims and survivors, and others committed to recognizing and implementing victims' rights and services.
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Includes information, statistics, and resources related to sexual violence and serves as a resource for state, territory, and tribal anti-sexual assault coalitions, rape crisis centers, allied organizations, community projects, policymakers, government entities, media, educators, health care providers, and others working to address and eliminate sexual assault.
Security on Campus, Inc.
Works to reduce crime on school campuses. Its Web site includes sections on news, outreach, and public policy.
Vera Institute of Justice
Works closely with leaders in government and civil society to improve the services people rely on for safety and justice.
Victim Rights Law Center, Inc.
Offers training and technical assistance to Legal Assistance for Victims grantees and develops civil legal strategies to safeguard the civil rights of sexual assault victims in the areas of privacy, safety, housing, education, employment, criminal justice, immigration, and financial compensation.
Women's Justice Center
Provides advocacy at no cost for victims of rape, domestic violence, and child abuse, particularly in the Latina and other underserved communities of Sonoma County, California. It also provides advocacy training and community education.
