Epstein Secrets

GING RIGHTS ATTACH UNDER THE CVRA ............... 90 A. A Test for Determining When Rights Attach.......0...000ccceeee 9] B. Applying the Test to the Epstein Case ..........ccccccceccccceceeeneees 93 C. Current Department Policy on Pre-charging Rights.................... 94 D. State Law Extension of Pre-ch

ll phases of the criminal justice process.° Congress drafted the CVRA, for example, broadly to make crime victims participants in criminal cases. The Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case demonstrates the importance of victim participation even before charges are filed. A. A BRIEF HISTORY OF CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS The c

victims were treated in all stages of the criminal justice process, from the police investigation through 6 See DoucLAs E. BELoor, PAUL G. CASSELL & STEVEN J. Twist, VICTIMS IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 3-39 (3d ed. 2010) (describing reforms from a historical perspective), see also, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a) (2012). T

FOR FAILURE TO RESPECT THE CRIME VICTIM'S FAMILY Jeffrey Alker Meyer, United States District Judge *1 Thi

they are the harmed individual," and "this in turn may contribute to the psychological healing of the victim." Douglas E. Beloof, Paul G. Cassell & Steven J. Twist, VICTIMS IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 478 (Carolina Acad. Press 2005). In addition, as a practical matter, "the victim may have financial interests in the

for crime victims has arisen - specifically, the Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case before a federal court in Florida. In that case, girls victimized by Epstein have argued that they should have been consulted about a federal nonprosecution agreement; Department attorneys have responded that because prosecuto

y parole or other release of the criminal. The Task Force 4 18 U.S.C. § 3771(¢)(1). > Id. § 3771(d)(3). © See Douglas E. Beloof, Paul G. Cassell & Steven J. Twist, Victims in Criminal Procedure 3-39 (3d ed. 2010) (describing reforms from a historical perspective); see also, e.g., /8 U.S.C. § 377/(a) (2012). 7

Congress sought to end that suffering by making victims meaningful participants in criminal cases. 3° C. AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRE-CHARGING ISSUE: THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE Grven the potentially expansive scope of victims' rights under both state provisions and the CVRA, a critical question arises about how to appl