I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5658 

To protect the rights of crime victims, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2020 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Mr. SENSENBRENNER) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect the rights of crime victims, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crime Victims’ Rights 

5 Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

7 Section 3771 of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (c)— 

10 (A) in the heading, strike ‘‘BEST’’; 

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1 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘shall 

2 make their best efforts to see’’ and all that fol3 lows through the period at the end and insert 

4 the following: ‘‘shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) ensure that crime victims are notified 

6 of, and accorded, the rights described in sub7 section (a); or 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case that officers and employ9 ees of the Department of Justice are unable 

10 meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), at11 tempt to notify the crime victim or the legal 

12 representative of the crime victim on not less 

13 than 3 occasions in which the mode of contact 

14 is valid, including outreach by means of tele15 phone, electronic mail, or certified mail;’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (d)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2), strike ‘‘reasonable 

18 procedure’’ and insert ‘‘reasonable procedure, in 

19 writing,’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

21 the following: ‘‘Relief under this subsection with 

22 respect to the conduct of an attorney for the 

23 Government may include the disqualification of 

24 the attorney from the proceeding, and such 

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1 other sanctions or penalties as the court deter2 mines appropriate.’’; and 

3 (3) by repealing subsection (f). 

4 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 237 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘§ 3772. Office of Crime Victims’ Rights 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

10 the Office of Professional Responsibility of the Depart11 ment of Justice the Office of Crime Victims’ Rights, which 

12 shall receive, investigate, and adjudicate complaints relat13 ing to the violation of the rights of a crime victim under 

14 section 3771. 

15 ‘‘(b) CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS COORDINATOR.—The 

16 Office of Crime Victims’ Rights shall be headed by the 

17 Crime Victims’ Rights Coordinator (in this section re18 ferred to as the ‘Coordinator’). The Coordinator shall be 

19 a civil servant appointed to the Senior Executive Service. 

20 The Coordinator may be removed from office, other than 

21 by impeachment and conviction, only by the personal ac22 tion of the Attorney General and only for good cause, 

23 physical or mental disability (if not prohibited by law pro24 tecting persons from discrimination on the basis of such 

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1 disability), or any other condition that substantially im2 pairs the performance of his or her duties. 

3 ‘‘(c) COMPLAINTS.—A crime victim or the legal rep4 resentative of a crime victim may submit to the Office of 

5 Crime Victims’ Rights a complaint alleging that an attor6 ney for the Government violated the rights of a crime vic7 tim under section 3771, which shall include the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) The full name, address, telephone number, 

9 and electronic mail address of the complainant. 

10 ‘‘(2) The name and title of the individual who 

11 violated the rights of the crime victim. 

12 ‘‘(3) The right of the crime victim that was al13 legedly violated. 

14 ‘‘(4) The details of the allegation, including the 

15 name of the court case and the jurisdiction in which 

16 the misconduct occurred, if applicable. 

17 ‘‘(5) Copies of any document that supports the 

18 complainant’s allegation. 

19 ‘‘(6) Any other information relevant to the com20 plaint. 

21 ‘‘(d) PERIOD TO SUBMIT COMPLAINTS.—A com22 plaint under subsection (c) may be submitted beginning 

23 on the date of the violation and ending on the date that 

24 is 180 days after a final judgment is entered in the under25 lying criminal proceeding (including any appeal), except 

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1 that the Coordinator may extend such filing period for 

2 good cause. 

3 ‘‘(e) LOG OF COMPLAINTS.—The Coordinator shall 

4 maintain a log of each complaint submitted under sub5 section (c). 

6 ‘‘(f) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATION.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after receiving a complaint under subsection (c), the 

9 Coordinator shall complete an investigation and 

10 issue a final order with respect to an alleged viola11 tion. At the request of the Coordinator, the Attorney 

12 General may grant one extension of not more than 

13 60 days under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(2) HEARING.—In conducting an investigation 

15 under paragraph (1), the Coordinator may hold a 

16 hearing, and shall hold a hearing at the written re17 quest of the complainant submitted not later than 

18 15 days after the Coordinator acknowledges receipt 

19 of the complaint. 

20 ‘‘(3) STANDARD.—If the Coordinator deter21 mines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the 

22 attorney for the Government knowingly violated the 

23 rights of a crime victim under section 3771, the Co24 ordinator shall impose appropriate disciplinary ac25 tion against the attorney under paragraph (4)(A) 

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1 and, except as provided in paragraph (4)(B)(iii), 

2 make the final order issued under paragraph (4) 

3 available to the public. 

4 ‘‘(4) ORDER OF DECISION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Coordinator shall 

6 issue an order with respect to a complaint filed 

7 under this section, and shall provide the order 

8 to the complainant and to the attorney for the 

9 Government. 

10 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF ORDER.— 

11 ‘‘(i) VIOLATION OF RIGHTS.—In the 

12 case that the Coordinator determines that 

13 the attorney for the Government violated 

14 the rights of a crime victim under section 

15 3771, the Coordinator may impose discipli16 nary action which may consist of— 

17 ‘‘(I) referral to each State bar 

18 association of which the attorney is a 

19 member in good standing not later 

20 than 30 days after the date on which 

21 the final order is made available; 

22 ‘‘(II) suspension or termination 

23 from employment; 

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1 ‘‘(III) suspension from practicing 

2 law on behalf of the United States; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(IV) referral to the appropriate 

5 United States Attorney if there is evi6 dence of criminal misconduct. 

7 ‘‘(ii) LESSER VIOLATIONS.—In the 

8 case that there is substantial evidence of 

9 an ethical violation by the attorney for the 

10 Government that does not amount to a vio11 lation of the rights of a crime victim under 

12 section 3771, the Coordinator may refer 

13 such violation— 

14 ‘‘(I) to the Director of Office of 

15 Professional Responsibility for adju16 dication; 

17 ‘‘(II) to each State bar associa18 tion of which the attorney is a mem19 ber in good standing; and 

20 ‘‘(III) to the appropriate super21 visor of the attorney. 

22 ‘‘(iii) NO VIOLATION OR INSUFFI23 CIENT EVIDENCE.—In the case that the 

24 Coordinator determines that the attorney 

25 for the Government did not violate section 

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1 3771 or that there is insufficient evidence 

2 to determine whether the attorney for the 

3 Government violated section 3771, the Co4 ordinator shall enter an order to such ef5 fect. An order under this clause shall not 

6 be made available to the public. 

7 ‘‘(iv) DELAYED EFFECT.—Any sanc8 tions imposed pursuant to an order under 

9 this section may not take effect until after 

10 the expiration of the time period to file an 

11 appeal, or in the case that an appeal is 

12 pending, until after the appeal is final. 

13 ‘‘(v) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.— 

14 Not later than 30 days after the date of 

15 which the period to seek a review expires, 

16 notice of the issuance of a final order shall 

17 be made publicly available on the website 

18 of the Office of Crime Victims’ Rights. 

19 ‘‘(5) APPEAL TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 

21 business days after the issuance of an order 

22 under paragraph (4), the complainant or the at23 torney for the Government may appeal the 

24 order to the Attorney General. 

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1 ‘‘(B) TIME FOR REVIEW.—Not later than 

2 30 days after an appeal is filed under this para3 graph, the Attorney General shall review the 

4 order. 

5 ‘‘(C) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—In the case 

6 that the Attorney General does not uphold the 

7 decision of the Coordinator, the Attorney Gen8 eral shall notify Congress as soon as prac9 ticable, but in no case later than 10 business 

10 days after completing review. 

11 ‘‘(D) FAILURE TO REVIEW.—If the Attor12 ney General fails to review an order pursuant to 

13 an appeal filed under this paragraph, the order 

14 shall be deemed to have been upheld by the At15 torney General on the date that is 45 days after 

16 the appeal is filed. 

17 ‘‘(g) RIGHTS OF COMPLAINANT.—The complainant 

18 shall have the following rights: 

19 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF RECEIPT.—The Coordinator 

20 shall provide to the complainant notice of receipt of 

21 a complaint not later than 10 days after the date of 

22 such receipt. 

23 ‘‘(2) RIGHT TO COUNSEL.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The complainant shall 

2 have the right to be represented by legal coun3 sel in any hearing under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) PRO BONO REPRESENTATION.—The 

5 Coordinator shall submit to the complainant a 

6 list of persons (updated not less often than 

7 quarterly) who have indicated their availability 

8 to represent crime victims on a pro bono basis. 

9 ‘‘(C) CONTACT INFORMATION OF COUN10 SEL.—In the case that a complainant is rep11 resented by legal counsel in a hearing convened 

12 under this section, the contact information of 

13 such attorney shall be included on the com14 plaint. 

15 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL.—In the 

16 case that legal counsel for a complainant with17 draws from such representation, the attorney 

18 shall provide notice to the Coordinator. 

19 ‘‘(3) RIGHT TO PRESENT EVIDENCE.—The com20 plainant shall have the right to present evidence and 

21 witnesses at any hearing under this section. 

22 ‘‘(h) RIGHTS OF ATTORNEY FOR THE GOVERN23 MENT.—Any attorney for the Government against whom 

24 a complaint has been submitted to the Office of Crime 

25 Victims’ Rights is entitled to— 

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1 ‘‘(1) receive notice of a complaint against the 

2 attorney not later than 10 days after such complaint 

3 is received by the Office of Crime Victims’ Rights; 

4 ‘‘(2) a reasonable time to answer in writing and 

5 to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence 

6 in support of the answer; 

7 ‘‘(3) be represented by legal counsel; 

8 ‘‘(4) be present at any hearing under this sec9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(5) present evidence and witnesses in their de11 fense; 

12 ‘‘(6) a copy of any final order imposing discipli13 nary action not later than the date on which the 

14 order is issued; 

15 ‘‘(7) end the complaint process by voluntarily 

16 forfeiting the attorney’s bar license in each jurisdic17 tion in which the attorney is licensed; and 

18 ‘‘(8) reasonable and timely access to access 

19 records of the Department of Justice related to the 

20 complaint. 

21 ‘‘(i) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this section, and each year 

23 thereafter, the Attorney General, acting through the Chief 

24 Counsel of the Office of Professional Responsibility of the 

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1 Department of Justice, shall submit to Congress a report 

2 that includes— 

3 ‘‘(1) the number of complaints filed with the 

4 Office of Crime Victims’ Rights; 

5 ‘‘(2) the number of complaints that are inves6 tigated; 

7 ‘‘(3) the number of complaints that were re8 ferred to a State bar association; 

9 ‘‘(4) a list of Federal districts in which mis10 conduct was alleged to have occurred and the num11 ber of complaints from each such district; 

12 ‘‘(5) a list of attorneys against whom more than 

13 5 complaints have been submitted to the Office of 

14 Crime Victims’ Rights; and 

15 ‘‘(6) a list of each alleged violation under sec16 tion 3771 and information on how frequently each 

17 such violation was reported.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 for chapter 237 of title 18, United States Code, is amend20 ed by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3772. Office of Crime Victims’ Rights.’’. 

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