Vol. VII No. 8 Victims' Rights - Arizona Attorney General

Office of Attorney General Terry GoddardVICTIMS’ RIGHTS BRIEFfor Arizona’s Justice System Administrators, Practitioners, and AdvocatesVol. VII No. 8 January /February 2004Victims’ Rights: Request or WaiveVictims’ rights laws wereestablished in Arizona bypolicy-makers who believedthat victims should have theright to choose whether or not toparticipate in the justice process.They intended the laws topromote a sense ofempowerment for many victimswho feel helpless aftervictimization.From that point forward, victimsof crime in Arizona have aconstitutional right to be treatedwith fairness, respect anddignity, and to be free fromintimidation, harassment orabuse throughout the justiceprocess. All state, county andmunicipal justice agencies andcourts in Arizona are required toperform certain duties to ensurevictims receive their rights.Additionally, a victim, uponrequest, may exercise or changehis/her decision to request/waiverights at any time during thejustice process.Many victim’s rights areautomatic. For example, avictim has: 1) the right to refusean interview, deposition, orother discovery request by thedefendant, the defendant’sThe Victims’ Rights Brief is published everyother month by the Arizona Attorney General’sOffice of Victim Services who remains whollyresponsible for its content. The goal indistributing it is to promote justice and healingfor crime victims by sharing information andfostering sensitivity within the justice system.Questions regarding content canbe directed to MarnaMcLendon at (602) 364-3329. To learn more aboutvictims’ rights via theinternet, visit us atwww.ag.state.az.attorney, or other person actingon behalf of the defendant; and, 2)the right to a speedy trial ordisposition and prompt and finalconclusion of the case after theconviction of the sentence. Onthe other hand, some victims’rights are not automatic and mustbe requested by the victim. Oncerequested, it becomes the justiceagency’s responsibility to ensurethat victim’s rights are received.Further ClarificationVictims’ RightsTo ensure that a victim is notoverlooked in thecriminal/juvenile justice process,victims’ rights statutes werefurther clarified by the ArizonaSupreme Court when it established"Rules of Criminal and JuvenileProcedures", as well as"Administrative Orders."Supported by statute, in 1996 theArizona Attorney General’s Officedeveloped the "Victim RequestFor, Or Waiver Of,Pre-Conviction And/OrPre-Adjudication Rights" form.This multi-copy form was to beutilized by all law enforcementagencies in Arizona. As of thisdate, these multi-copy forms arebeing utilized by 93% of all lawenforcement agencies in Arizona.The statutes do allow lawenforcement agencies to establishan alternate form provided that thesame results are achieved and it isapproved by the Arizona AttorneyGeneral’ s Office. According toA.R.S. §13-4405 and §8-386, theform must elicit a victim’sdesignation of a request or waiverof rights and be a means forvictims to designate a lawfulrepresentative. Also required isthe duty to give victims notice ofresources and other assistanceinformation such as names andnumbers of service providers.Victim and Law EnforcementWorking TogetherLaw EnforcementTo ensure that victims of crimeare informed of their rights andthe choice of exercising theirrights, law enforcement agenciesare required by statute to initiatethe process by providing victimswith the aforementionedmulti-copy form. The statute alsospecifies that the form copiesaccompany a case as it proceedsthrough the justice system. Tofurther assist victims, theinvestigating law enforcementofficer may indicate a"Request/Waiver Exception" onbehalf of a victim who isphysically or emotionally unableto request/waive rights at the timeof initial contact, thusautomatically invoking the rightsof the victim.Victim(or Lawful Representative)According to Rule 39 of the"Arizona Rules of CriminalProcedure - Victims’ Rights,"victims have a duty to implementor waive rights. Any victimwanting to claim notificationrights and privileges provided bythis Rule must provide his/herfull name, address and telephonenumber to the office prosecutingthe case and to any other agencyfrom which notice is requested by

the victim. If the victim is acorporation, partnership,association or other legal entityand has requested notice of thehearings to which it is entitled,that legal entity will need toimmediately designate arepresentative and provide therepresentative’s contactinformation to the prosecutorand to any other agency fromwhich notice is requested by thevictim. Thereafter, only thedesignated representative will beentitled to assert victims’ rightson behalf of that legal entity.Any change in designation mustbe provided in writing to theprosecutor and to any otheragency from which notice isrequested by the victim. Failureto keep the address andtelephone number current or todesignate a representative of alegal entity will be considered awaiver of notification rightsunder this Rule.Victims’ Rights Here To StayVictims’ rights are here to stay.It is the hope of Arizonapolicy-makers that the victims’rights statutes, together with theprocedures and orders, willensure that no victim of crime isoverlooked throughout thejustice system.Should you have any questionssurrounding the statutes thatVICTIMS’ RIGHTS BRIEF A 3-minute update.ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE OFVICTIM SERVICES1275 West WashingtonPhoenix, AZ 85007support victims’ rights to requestor waive rights, please call theOffice of Victim Services whichcan provide training to lawenforcement agencies and/orprovide answers to technicalquestions: 602-542-4911.TO CHANGE ADDRESS OR DELETE YOURAGENCY FROM THE VICTIMS’ RIGHTSBRIEF MAILING LIST...Agency:Address:~NEW ~TheVictims’ Rights Brief, is nowavailable via the Arizona AttorneyGeneral’s official website atwww.ag.state.az.us in the VictimServices section.Victim Service PractitionersInformationSectionMastersProgramBeingDevelopedSam Houston State University, located inHuntsville, Texas, is developing a mastersDegree program in Victim Services ?VictimAdministration. The development processincludes a needs assessment to identify the level ofinterest in such a program. If you think you mightbe interested in exploring a masters degree invictim services or victim administration, whichwould incorporate distance learning, please sendan e-mail or letter of support to: Stephanie Frogge,Box 2296, Huntsville, TX 77341-2296 orFrogge@shsu.edu. Please indicate whether anemphasis in victim services delivery or one inagency administration would better meet youreducational and professional needs. Your letter ofinterest/support does not obligate you in any waybut you will be kept apprised of the programsdevelopment.Q ChangeQ Delete