DOJ Guidelines Expand Victim Notification Rights Prior to Formal Charging

Page 25 of 31 104 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 59, *95 rights until after the time "when criminal proceedings are initiated by complaint, information, or indictment." 7° The Department, however, provides hortatory guidance that Justice Department employees shall make "best efforts" to notify crime victims about their CVRA rights "as early in the criminal justice process as is feasible and appropriate." 7°? Of greater interest, however, is the Department's mandatory policy regarding notification regarding crime victim services under the VRRA. The Guidelines explain how "Department responsibilities to crime victims begin as soon as possible after the detection of a crime at which they may be undertaken without interfering in the investigation." 2°4 The Guidelines then direct the appropriate "responsible official" to provide crime victims with "information about services available to them." 7° This information must be provided at "the earliest opportunity after detection of a crime at which it may be done without interfering with an investigation." 7° The Department appears to have little difficulty implementing this requirement. Evidence of this fact comes from the Justice Department itself, which responded to the letter from Senator Kyl discussed earlier questioning why the Department was not applying the CVRA before charges were filed. 7°’ In its response, the Department noted that OLC had issued an opinion that the CVRA did not extend rights before the formal filing of charges. 7°8 "Even so," the Department explained, "the new AG Guidelines go further and provide that Department prosecutors should make [*96] reasonable efforts to notify identified victims of, and consider victims' views about, prospective plea negotiations, even prior to the filing of a charging instrument with the court." 70? The Department also noted that it provided extensive pre-charging notifications to victims under the VRRA: Pursuant to the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (VRRA), the Department identifies victims and provides to them service referrals, reasonable protection, notice concerning the status of the investigation, and information about the criminal justice process prior to the filing of any charges. The Department's investigative agencies provide such services to thousands of victims every year, whether or not the investigation results in a federal prosecution. 7!° Quantifying the scope of this undertaking with regard to one federal investigative agency, the Department explained: The [FBI] alone reports that it provided more than 190,000 services to victims during the past fiscal year [FY 2011], including case status updates, assistance with compensation applications and referrals, and counseling referrals. From sexual assaults in Indian Country to child pornography and human trafficking to mass violence and overseas terrorism, FBI victim specialists provide much-needed immediate and ongoing support and information to victims. The FBI addresses victim safety issues when needed, providing on-scene response and crisis intervention services in thousands of investigations. With regard to sexual assault victims, FBI personnel arrange for and often accompany victims to forensic sexual assault medical examinations and provide assistance with HIV/STD testing. 7!! 202 Attorney General Guidelines, supra note 52, at 8. 203 Td. at 35, 204 Td, at 26 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 10607(b) (2006). 205 Td. at 29 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 10607(b)(2)). Elsewhere, the Guidelines define the official who is responsible as the appropriate federal law enforcement officer during the investigation of the crime or the U.S. Attorney once charges have been filed. Id. at 25-26. 206 Td. at 29. 207 See supra notes 130-33 and accompanying text. 208 Letter from Ronald Weich, supra note 135, at 2. 209 Jq. 210 Td. at 2-3. 211 Td. at 3. DAVID SCHOEN HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017628