§10606. Victims' rights

(a) Best efforts to accord rights

Officers and employees of the Department of Justice and other departments and agencies of the United States engaged in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime shall make their best efforts to see that victims of crime are accorded the rights described in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Rights of crime victims

A crime victim has the following rights:

(1) The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy.

(2) The right to be reasonably protected from the accused offender.

(3) The right to be notified of court proceedings.

(4) The right to be present at all public court proceedings related to the offense, unless the court determines that testimony by the victim would be materially affected if the victim heard other testimony at trial.

(5) The right to confer with ¹ attorney for the Government in the case.

(6) The right to restitution.

(7) The right to information about the conviction, sentencing, imprisonment, and release of the offender.

(c) No cause of action or defense

This section does not create a cause of action or defense in favor of any person arising out of the failure to accord to a victim the rights enumerated in subsection (b) of this section.

( Pub. L. 101–647, title V, §502, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4820 .)

Codification

Section enacted as part of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 and also as part of the Crime Control Act of 1990, and not as part of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 which comprises this chapter.

Sense of Congress With Respect to Victims of Crime

Section 506 of Pub. L. 101–647 provided that: "It is the sense of Congress that the States should make every effort to adopt the following goals of the Victims of Crime Bill of Rights:

"(1) Victims of crime should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity throughout the criminal justice process.

"(2) Victims of crime should be reasonably protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process.

"(3) Victims of crime should have a statutorily designated advisory role in decisions involving prosecutorial discretion, such as the decision to plea-bargain.

"(4) Victims of crime should have the right to a reasonable assurance that the accused will be tried in an expeditious manner.

"(5) A victim of crime should have the right to be present at all proceedings related to the offense against him, unless the victim is to testify and the court determines that the victim's testimony would be materially prejudiced by hearing other testimony at the trial.

"(6) Victims of crime should have the right to information about the conviction, sentencing and imprisonment of the person who committed the crime against them.

"(7) Victims of crime should be compensated for the damage resulting from the crime to the fullest extent possible by the person convicted of the crime.

"(8) Victims of crime should have a statutorily designated advisory role in deciding the early release status of the person convicted of the crime against them.

"(9) A victim of crime should never be forced to endure again the emotional and physical consequences of the original crime."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 10607 of this title.

¹ So in original. Probably should be followed by "the".