Epstein Secrets

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CVRA rights attach when an officer or employee of the Department of Justice or any other department or agency of the United S

014 Crime Victims’ Rights During Criminal Investigations? Applying the Crime Victims’ Rights Act Bebore Criminal Charges Are Filed Paul G. Cassell Nathanael J. Mitchell Bradley J. Edwards Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc o& Part of the Criminal Law Commons Rec

ns 71 C. Courts Recognize That Crime Victims Have CVRA Rights Before Charging .........ccccccccccccccccccccccesceessseesseesseesseeeseeessees 73 III. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S UNPERSUASIVE POSITION .........0....00000- 75 A. OLC’s Misreading of the CVRA’s Definition of “Victim” ........ 76 B. OLC’s Distortion of the CVRA’s

of 31 104 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 59, *75 II. The Justice Department's Unpersuasive Position Despite the CVRA's broad r

cifically directs that "officers and employees of the Department of Justice and other departments and agencies of the United

GHTS ACT BEFORE CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE FILED Winter, 2014 Reporter 104 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 59 * Length: 23898 words Author: PAUL G. CASSELL*, NATHANAEL J. MITCHELL** and BRADLEY J. EDWARDS*** * Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Professor of Criminal Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. ** Assoc

hat potential charges will never be filed. The issue of pre-charging rights has most prominently surfaced in connection with federal cases. In 2010, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) weighed in on the issue and released a legal opinion arguing that victims of federal crimes have no CVRA rights during

v. United States, 817 F.Supp.2d 1337, 1341 (S.D. Fla. 2011). Epstein also fails to fully describe what the Justice Department regulations required the Justice Department to do during the investigative stage of a case. The 2005 Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance (hereinafter "2005 A.G. Victi

the Justice Department would be staking out a very narrow (but unsupportable) position on its legal obligations under the law. Cf. Paul G. Cassell, Nathanael J. Mitchell & Bradley J. Edwards, Applying the Crime Victims' Rights Act Before Criminal Charges are Filed, 104 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 59, 76-77 (2014) ("OL

1(b)(1) (emphasis added). This Court also previously held that "[w]hile Epstein was within his rights to attempt to persuade higher authorities with the Department of Justice to overrule the prosecutorial decisions of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida, the CVRA was designed to give victims the

v. United States, 817 F.Supp.2d 1337, 1341 (S.D. Fla. 2011). Epstein also fails to fully describe what the Justice Department regulations required the Justice Department to do during the investigative stage of a case. The 2005 Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance (hereinafter "2005 A.G. Victi

the Justice Department would be staking out a very narrow (but unsupportable) position on its legal obligations under the law. Cf. Paul G. Cassell, Nathanael J. Mitchell & Bradley J. Edwards, Applying the Crime Victims' Rights Act Before Criminal Charges are Filed, 104 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 59, 76-77 (2014) ("OL

1(b)(1) (emphasis added). This Court also previously held that "[w]hile Epstein was within his rights to attempt to persuade higher authorities with the Department of Justice to overrule the prosecutorial decisions of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida, the CVRA was designed to give victims the