Victim Rights

If you are a victim of a Federal crime that has been charged in Federal Court and were directly or proximately harmed as a result of that crime, under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771(a)) you have the following rights:

(1) The right to be reasonably protected from the accused.

(2) The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused.

(3) The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding.

(4) The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding.

(5) The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case.

(6) The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law.

(7) The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay.

(8) The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy.

(9) The right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement.

(10) The right to be informed of the rights under this section and the services described in section 503(c) of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10607(c)) and provided contact information for the Office of the Victims' Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice.

United States Attorney’s Office Role: Our role as employees of the United States Attorney’s Office is to inform you of your rights, explain the Federal criminal legal process and to provide you with notification of events in the pending criminal matter. We will make our best efforts to ensure you are provided the rights described. It is important to keep in mind that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that presumption requires both the Court and our office to take certain steps to ensure that justice is done. While our office cannot act as your attorney or provide you with legal advice, you can seek the advice of an attorney with respect to these rights or other related legal matters. Under certain circumstances, your attorney may assert your rights in court.

Limited Confidentiality Statement: As employees of the United States Attorney’s Office, we are here to assist you as you go through the criminal justice process. However, you should know that we work as part of a team with the criminal prosecutor and the investigative case agent. Discussions that we have with victims may not be considered completely confidential. This is especially important if you share information regarding your safety, a medical emergency, when the information relates to child abuse and/or when the non disclosure of the information could interfere with the investigation or prosecution of the case.

Please note, that while we will treat you as a victim for purposes of notification in some instances, the court may when applying the law to the applicable charges, find that you are not a victim that is entitled to be heard and restitution.