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AND JUSTICE FOR ALL? The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution promises equal protection under the law for all citizens: Federal and state criminal justice systems ought to regard social factors such as class, race, nationality, religion, and sex as irrelevant to the administration of the law (blind justice). Tradition- ally, criminologists and political activists have […]

Influencing Parole Board Decisions Statistically, few victims ever deal with members of parole boards because only small percentages of offenders are caught, convicted, and sent away to prison for years. However, parole hearings have received a great deal of attention from the victims’ rights movement because they determine the fates of inmates who have inflicted

VICTIMS AND CORRECTIONS OFFICIALS Corrections officials include jail and prison war- dens and guards, and probation and parole officers. Victims whose cases led to successful prosecutions occasionally seek their cooperation but may find themselves in conflict over issues of safety and money. 236 CH APT ER 7 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May

Decisions Opposing Victims Interests and Rights Government Has No Constitutional Duty to Protect Individuals In 1989 (De Shaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of Social Ser- vices), six of the nine justices decided that a government agency could not be sued for failing to intervene (on behalf of a child repeatedly beaten and permanently injured by

Supreme Court Decisions Directly Affecting Victims Decisions Advancing Victims’ Interests and Rights Victimized Children Can Testify via Closed-Circuit Television In 1990, in a 5–4 decision (Maryland v. Craig), the Supreme Court held that it was constitutional for a state to pass a law that shields a child who accuses an adult of sexual abuse from

Appealing to the Supreme Court On rare occasions, a case involving a crime victim raises significant legal issues that have not yet been addressed and resolved by an earlier judicial ruling. In these instances, victims and their supporters, as well as prosecutors and defense attorneys, have turned to the U.S. Supreme Court to make wise

VICTIMS AND JUDGES Judges are supposed to act as referees within the adversary system. Defendants often consider them to be partisans representing the state and favoring the prosecution. Angry victims, however, fre- quently see judges as guardians of the rights of the accused rather than protectors of injured parties. Victims who have been mistreated by

Cross-Examining Witnesses During Trials If they can’t wear down victims by stalling, defense attorneys might try to discredit them, along with other prosecution witnesses, before or during a trial. Attorneys for the accused are duty- bound to seek evidence that contradicts or under- mines what the accusers contend. In addition to a speedy trial, the

VICTIMS AND DEFENSE ATTORNEYS Victims and defense attorneys are on opposite sides and therefore are natural enemies within the adver- sary system. Whether hired privately for a fee or provided free to indigents, these lawyers have a duty to advise suspects, defendants, and convicts about legal proceedings and the options they can exercise. Defense lawyers

Dismissing Charges and Rejecting Cases Crime victims, police officers, and prosecutors are all supposed to be on the same side within the adversary system. Yet their alliance—based in the- ory on a common commitment to convict people guilty of crimes—often unravels. Victims may feel rebuffed and abandoned when prosecutors dismiss or reduce charges and counts