TOWARD GREATER FORMAL LEGAL RIGHTS WITHIN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
The struggle to gain guarantees and protections from the government has motivated reformers and dissidents throughout history. Legal rights serve as a
remedy for injustice and abuse as well as a basis for independent and autonomous action. A number of movements seeking liberation, empowerment, equality, and social justice have sought greater rights for their constituencies. The most well- known and influential include the civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, consumers’ rights, students’ rights, children’s rights, gay rights, mental patients’ rights, and prisoners’ rights movements. The victims’ rights movement that arose during the 1960s falls within this reformist tradition.
The legal rights of journalists, political activists, criminal defendants, and convicts have been derived from the safeguards and guarantees specified in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which taken together are referred to as the Bill of Rights. But the framers of the Constitution did not enumer- ate any specific rights for crime victims. The pledges, entitlements, privileges, benefits, options, practices, and opportunities for redress commonly referred to as victims’ rights spring from several different sources. A few rights originated as idiosyncratic poli- cies adopted by certain caring and innovative officials, such as police chiefs, district attorneys, trial judges, and probation officers. Other rights were derived from case law based on court decisions. The remain- der was established by laws passed by city and county governments, statutes enacted by state legislatures, acts approved by Congress, and referenda placed on the ballot by advocacy groups and endorsed by voters. As a result, an inconsistent assortment of rights has developed that varies markedly from state to state, jurisdiction (county or municipality) to jurisdiction, and even courthouse to courthouse.
One trend is certain: Since the 1960s, victims’ rights have been proliferating in the legislative arena and expanding geographically because of the suc- cessful campaigns of a social movement. Composed of activists, support groups, concerned professionals (like lawyers and doctors), nonprofit organizations, and coalitions forging broad alliances, this move- ment has won many victories and has changed the way the public, the media, businesses, and elected officials view the crime problem and the individuals who suffer because of it. The driving force behind the movement is the personal commitment of its
V IC T IMS ’ R IG H T S AN D TH E C R IM IN AL JUS T I C E S YS TE M 207
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leading grassroots activists. Most are survivors in the best sense of the word—they are individuals who have endured terrible ordeals or are close family members of people who perished; they have sum- moned up the strength to demonstrate exemplary resiliency to overcome adversity, and effectively channeled their grief and anger into constructive outlets. They have struggled for social change and justice so that fewer people in the future will have to suffer what they went through. Some examples of people on the frontlines of reform who were chosen by fate to become organizers and leaders with a new sense of purpose appear in Box 7.1.
A self-reinforcing cycle is operating: As more victims become aware of their rights and begin to
exercise them, these rights become accepted and honored within the criminal justice system. These victories encourage victims and their allies to raise new demands for further rights (Stark and Goldstein, 1985; and Viano, 1987).
Recent improvements in cruise ship passenger safety illustrate this self-reinforcing cycle in action. After a rash of incidents in which passengers were murdered, assaulted, raped, or mysteriously disap- peared at sea, Congress responded to recommenda- tions made by a group of victimized passengers and passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act in 2010. The law required these huge floating five-star hotels to better address the needs of their customers who were harmed far from home. Ships must have