Victims' Rights Clarification Act of 1997

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The Victims' Rights Clarification Act ( VRCA , dt. : Law clarifying victims procedural rights ) is an occasion Law , which on 5 March 1997 by the 105th United States Congress adopted and (1997-1998) from the President of the United States ( Bill Clinton ) on March 19, 1997.

Reasons for the law

The VRCA has also been put into effect for proceedings that are already pending (Sec. 2 lit. d). This was intended to ensure that in the proceedings against Timothy McVeigh in connection with the bomb attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (April 19, 1995), the victims who wanted to follow the trial could still speak during the conviction (in the context of so-called: Victims' Rights ).

The trial judge, Richard Matsch, had previously prohibited victims who had previously followed the trial from appearing and speaking as victims in the court later. The judge's decision was upheld by the appellate court on March 11th. Despite the federal law that has come into force in the meantime and the ordering of its application also for pending proceedings according to Sec 2 lit. d) VRCA, Judge Matsch largely ignored federal law for this proceeding, as he held the legal opinion that the United States Congress does not have the right to order a U.S. district judge how to conduct the proceeding. The legal basis of the VRCA remains questionable.

Judge Matsch on the first day of the proceedings: “ This is not theater, this is a trial. "

Victims' Rights Movement

The VRCA is part of the Victims 'Rights Movement , a movement to strengthen victims' rights, including from conservative and feminist circles. As a result, the victim should be the focus of the criminal process and not the offender. Quote from Bill Clinton when the law was signed (March 19, 1997) published on March 20, 1997:

As I have said before, when someone is a victim, he or she should be at the center of the criminal justice process, not on the outside looking in. The Act, of course, does not limit the courts' authority and obligation to protect the defendant's right to a fair trial under the due process clause .

Legal text and explanation

The VRCA supplements Title 18 of the United States Code (Code of Laws of the United States of America, Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure) to provide certain rights for crime victims who participate in and monitor the proceedings against the accused to back up.

In SECTION 1. a quotable short title is proposed: Victims' Rights Clarification Act of 1997 :

This Act may be cited as the `` Victim Rights Clarification Act of 1997 '' .

In SECTION 2. the actual provisions of the law follow. Paragraph (a) states that Chapter 223 of Title 18 United States Code is added at the end with the following: Section 3510. Rights of Victims to Attend and Observe the Trial

Chapter 223 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of the following:
" Sec. 3510. Rights of victims to attend and observe trial ".

Sub-paragraphs (a) through (c) that then follow deal with the application of the law in federal courts (a) and (b) and the definition of the term victim (c).

'' (a) NON-CAPITAL CASES. — Notwithstanding any statute, rule, or other provision of law, a United States district court shall not order any victim of an offense excluded from the trial of a defendant accused of that offense because such victim may, during the sentencing hearing, make a statement or present any information in relation to the sentence.
'' (b) CAPITAL CASES. — Notwithstanding any statute, rule, or other provision of law, a United States district court shall not order any victim of an offense excluded from the trial of a defendant accused of that offense because such victim may, during the sentencing hearing, testify as to the effect of the offense on the victim and the victim's family or as to any other factor for which notice is required under section 3593 (a).
'' (c) DEFINITION. — As used in this section, the term 'victim' includes all persons defined as victims in section 503 (e) (2) of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990. ''

Paragraph (b) regulates the insertion of Section 3510 into the list of sections and paragraphs in the United States Code.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT. — The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 223 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item: '' 3510. Rights of victims to attend and observe trial. ''

Paragraph (c) was added because this law could limit the procedural rights of the offender (accused). To this end, paragraph (c) of the VRCA stated that this law does not create unfair prejudice to the detriment of the accused and that the jury will not be deceived or misled.

(c) CLARIFICATION OF GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION. — Section 3593 (c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting '' For the purposes of the preceding sentence, the fact that a victim, as defined in section 3510, attended or observed the trial shall not be construed to pose a danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. '' after '' misleading the jury. ''

With this provision, the legislature has shown that it was well aware that such a risk existed. In practice, this has also been confirmed and some public prosecutor's offices are now also presenting evidence that creates prejudice in order to take the jury against the accused in order to achieve a high sentence.

Paragraph (d) regulates the effects on pending cases. The changes made in this section also apply in cases that are still outstanding at the time this Act comes into force:

(d) EFFECT ON PENDING CASES. — The amendments made by this section shall apply in cases pending on the date of the enactment of this Act. Approved March 19, 1997 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jill Lepore: The Rise of the Victims'-Rights Movement , The New Yorker, May 21, 2018.
  2. ↑ Stephen M. Harnik in The Victims' Rights Movement - A controversial legal development in Anwalt Aktuell , 3/18, p. 20 f.
  3. ↑ This is not a theater , this is a trial , Judge Richard Matsch remark on the first day of the trial of twenty-nine year old Timothy McVeigh, March 31, 1997.
  4. ^ Jill Lepore: The Rise of the Victims'-Rights Movement , The New Yorker, May 21, 2018.
  5. ↑ This statement was released on March 20 by the US President's Office of Public Relations. Find it online on the website of Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project: [1] .
  6. ↑ Dt .: As I said before, if someone is a victim, he or she should be the focus of the criminal justice process, not outside. The law, of course, does not limit the authority and the duty of protection of the courts with regard to the right of the accused to a fair trial under procedural rights .
  7. ^ Statement on Signing the Victim Rights Clarification Act of 1997 , The American Presidency Project.
  8. ↑ Public Law 105-6 of the 105th Congress.
  9. ↑ Paragraph 1 of the preamble to the VRCA.
  10. ↑ See also the statement by Bill Clinton on the occasion of the signing of the VRCA: Statement on Signing the Victim Rights Clarification Act of 1997 , The American Presidency Project.
  11. ^ Jill Lepore: The Rise of the Victims'-Rights Movement , The New Yorker, May 21, 2018.
  12. ↑ Stephen M. Harnik in The Victims' Rights Movement - A Controversial Legal Development in Anwalt Aktuell , 3/18, p. 21.