Victims and Witnesses of Crime House Document No. 10
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. REPORT OF THE VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION Victims and Witnesses of Crime TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA House Document No. 10 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA RICHMOND 1988 140256 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice d d exactly as received from the This document has been repro uce s of view or opinions stated In person or organization Orlr~~a~~~~rs~~~ do not necessarily represent this document arle thospoe°llcie~ of the National Institute of Justice. the official pos1 t on or Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been gran~ed by, • state crime comnission VJIq:LnJ.a to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS).. Further reproduction outside 01 the NCJRS system requires permiSSion of the copyright owner. COMMONWE'ALTH of VIRGINIA POST OFFICE BOX 3·AG MEMBERS RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23208 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION FROM THE SENATE OF VIRGINIA ELMON T GRA", CHAIRMAN • IN RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER TELEPHONE HOWARD P. ANDERSON (804) 225·4534 General Assembly Building WILLIAM T. PARKER ROBERT E COLVIN 910 Capitol Street FROM THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ROBERT B BALL, SR , VICE CHAIRMAN RAYMOND R. GUEST, JR. THEODORE V MORRISON, JR. A L. PHILPOTT WARREN G. STAMBAUGH CLIFTON A. WOODRUM APPOINTMENTS BY THE GOVERNOR L. RAY ASHWORTH WILLIAM N PAXTON, JR. GEORGE F RICKETTS, SR ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE H LANE KNEEDLER November 9, 1987 Xo: The Honorable Gerald L. Baliles, Governor of Virginia, and Members of the General Assembly: House Joint Resolution 225, agreed to by the 1987 General Assembly, directed the Virginia State Crime Commission "to evaluate the effectiveness of current services provided to victims and witnesses of crime throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and make any recommendations the Commission finds appropriate." In fulfilling this directive, a comprehensive study was conducted by the Virginia State Crime Commission. I have the honor of submitting herewith the study report and recommendations on Victims and Witnesses of Crime. T. Gray'~ Chairman - ) ETG/sab Respectfully Submitted • by the Virginia State Crime Commission From the Senate of Virginia: Elmon T. Gray, Chairman Howard P. Anderson William T. Parker From the House of Delegates: Robert B. Ball Sr., Vice Chairman Raymond R. Guest Jr. Theodore V. Morrison Jr. A.L. Philpott Warren G. Stambaugh Clifton A. Woodrum Appointments by the Governor L. Ray Ashworth William N. Paxton Jr. George F. Ricketts Sr. Attorney General's Office H. Lane Kneedler Subcommittee Studying Victims and Witnesses of Crime • Members: Senator William T. Parker, Chairman Delegate Raymond R. Guest Jr. Mr. H. Lane Kneedler, Attorney General's Office Mr. William N. Paxton Jr. Reverend George F. Ricketts Sr. Delegate Warren G. Stambaugh Delegate Clifton A. Woodrum Staff: Robert E. Colvin, Executive Director Phyllis H. Price, Ph.D, Research Associate Kimberly A. Morris, Executive Secretary Department of Criminal Justice Services: John F. Mahoney ~ Crime Victims Specialist Mandie M. Patterson, Manager, Victim Services Program Attorney General's Office: Marla L. Graff, Assistant Attorney General Acknowledgement The members wish to express particular gratitude to the victims and families of victims whose courage and sense of justice brought them to testify before the subcommittee. We also wish to thank the many volunteers who give generously of their time to ease the burden of victims of crime. Table of Contents I. Authority for the study •...... • •••••••••••••••••••• 6t • ~ •••••••• 1 II. Members Appointed to Serve ............................ ".......... 1 If ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 • ill. Backgr-otmd .... to IV. Scope of th~ Study ........................... III •••••••••••••••••••• 2 v. Recommendations . .. • ........... tI ••••••••••••••••• 2 VI. Work of the Subcommittee. ............................. 5 VII. Discussion of Issues ........................................... e , • •• 7 Appendices A. Legislative Proposals ....... ., ....... II •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 15 B. HJR 225 .................. 0 •••• c •••••••••••••• II ••• " •••• 0 ••••••• 26 C. HJR 105 ...................................... It It ••••••••••••••• 28 D. Recommended Judicial Practices in Virginie. ••••••••••••••••••.••••• 30 E. Model Legislation - Presidential Task Force ••••••••••••••••••.•.••• 34 F. Existing Virginia Victims Legislation. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•. 37 G. Summary of Crime Victims Legislation by State••••.••••••••••••••.• 39 G-l. 1986/87 VictimlWitness laws and proposed legislation ••••••••••.•.••• 44 H. Financial Analysis of Proposed Compensation Fund Ch&.nges ••••••.••• 47 I. Parole notification procedures and form. •••.••••••••••••••••••••••• 51 SUBCOMMITTEE STUDYING ISSUES PERTAINING TO VICTIMS AND WITNESSES OF CRIME I. A~lthority for the Study House Joint Resolution 225, agreed to by the 1987 General Assembly, directs the Virginia State Crime Commission "to (i) evaluate the effectiveness of current services provided to victims and witnesses of crime throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, (ii) to study the concept of a Bill of Rights for Victims and Witnesses of Crime, and (iii) to make any recommendations the Commission finds appropriate" (Appendix B). Delegate V. Thomas Forehand Jr. of Chesapeake and Delegate John G. Dicks III of Chesterfield were the patrons of the resolution. Section 9-125 of the Code of Virgffiia establishes and directs the Virgilnia State Crime Commission (V8CC) "to study, report and make recommendations on aU areas of public safety and protection." Section 9-127 of the Code of Vil'~ provides that "The Commission shall have the duty and power to make such studies and gather information and data in order to accomplish its purposes as set forth in § 9-125 ___ , and to formulate its recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly." Section 9-134 of the Code of Virginia authorizes the Commission "to conduct private and public hearings, and to designate a member of the Commission to preside over such hearings." The VSCC, in fulfilling its legisla.tive mandate, Wldertook the Victims and Witnesses of Crime Study as directed by House Joint Resolution 225. II. Members Appointed to Serve During the April 13, 1987 meeting of the Crime Commission, Senator Gray appoint.ed Senator William T. Parker of Chesapeake to serve as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Victims and Witnesses of Crime. Members of the Crime Commission who served on the subcommittee are: Senator William T _ Parker of Chesapeake, Chairman Delegate Raymond R. Guest Jr. of Front Royal Mr. H. Lane Kneedler (Attorney General's Office) Mr. William N. Paxton Jr. of Richmond Reverend George F. Ricketts Sr. of Richmond Delegate Warren G. Stambaugh of Arlington Delegate Clifton A. Woodrum of Roanoke m. BackgroWld The criminal justice system has, according to many, emphasized the rights of the accused and the convicted while forgetting those of crime victims and witnesses. In the last decade, however, federal and sta.te governments have enacted laws and are conducting studies designed to improve the system's treatment of victims and witnesses and, for . victims, to attempt some recompense for their losses. Primary among the accomplishments are victim and witness assistance programs and victims compensation fWlds. As early as 1976, Virginia had established its Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, and in 1984 set up a Victim and Witness Assistance Program. In that same year, HJR 105 (Appendix C) requested law-enforcement agencies, Commonwealth's attorneys, and courts to provide fair treatment to crime victims and witnesses. -1- The Judicial Council of Virginia and the Judicial Conference of Virginia adopted these practices and published II A Statement of Principles and Recommended Judicial Practices to Assure Fair Treatment of Crime Victims and Witnesses" (Appendix D). In 1986, Virginia amended its sexual assault statutes to include sex-neutral and marital rape provisions. Also in 1986, both HB 792 and HB 848 proposed a Victims Bill of Rights whose specifications parallel those of the Justice Depart.ment's Model Legislation (Appendix E). By 1987, Virginia had enacted legislation which, if reenacted in 1988, permits videotaping certain children's depositions, thereby drawing Virginia closer to the federal Model • Legislation; however, Virginia, like other states, must still decide how far and how fast it wishes to comply with the model. Appendix G summarizes the model's provisions and each state's degree of compliance. IV. Scope of the Study: The study included the following topics: --- Crime victims compensation --- Funding of victim-witness services --- Victim input in the sentencing process --- Victim input in the parole process --- Confidentiality of designated victim counseling --- Feasibility of a Bill of Rights for victims --- Other issues brought forward at public hearings Although the study focused on legislative initiatives, the subcommittee recommended administrative or other actions to improve services for and treatment of "ictims and witnesses. Four crime victims issues, the hearsay rule, videotaping testimony in child sex abuse cases, distribution of court assessments, and restitution are being studied by a House and Senate joint courts subcommittee, pursuant to HJR 319 (1987), and the Department of Planning and Budget, pursuant to Item 17 of the 1987 Appropriations Act. The Crime Commission subcommittee did not duplicate