I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4342

To protect crime victims’ rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2004

Mr. CHABOT (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SHADEGG, and Mr. BRADY of 

Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To protect crime victims’ rights.

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 ‘‘Scott Campbell, Steph5 anie Roper, Wendy Preston, Louarna Gillis, and Nila 

6 Lynn Crime Victims’ Rights Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

8 (a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 18.—Part II of title 18, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 237—CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3771.Crime victims’ rights.

2 ‘‘§ 3771. Crime victims’ rights 

3 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS.—A crime victim 

4 has the following rights: 

5 ‘‘(1) The right to be reasonably protected from 

6 the accused. 

7 ‘‘(2) The right to reasonable, accurate, and 

8 timely notice of any public proceeding involving the 

9 crime or of any release or escape of the accused. 

10 ‘‘(3) The right not to be excluded from any 

11 such public proceeding. 

12 ‘‘(4) The right to be reasonably heard at any 

13 public proceeding involving release, plea, or sen14 tencing. 

15 ‘‘(5) The right to confer with the attorney for 

16 the Government in the case. 

17 ‘‘(6) The right to full and timely restitution as 

18 provided in law. 

19 ‘‘(7) The right to proceedings free from unrea20 sonable delay. 

21 ‘‘(8) The right to be treated with fairness and 

22 with respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy. 

23 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS AFFORDED.—In any court proceeding 

24 involving an offense against a crime victim, the court shall 
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1 ensure that the crime victim is afforded the rights de2 scribed in subsection (a). The reasons for any decision de3 nying relief under this chapter shall be clearly stated on 

4 the record. 

5 ‘‘(c) BEST EFFORTS TO ACCORD RIGHTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT.—Officers and employees of 

7 the Department of Justice and other departments 

8 and agencies of the United States engaged in the de9 tection, investigation, or prosecution of crime shall 

10 make their best efforts to see that crime victims are 

11 notified of, and accorded, the rights described in 

12 subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(2) CONFLICT.—In the event of any material 

14 conflict of interest between the prosecutor and the 

15 crime victim, the prosecutor shall advise the crime 

16 victim of the conflict and take reasonable steps to 

17 direct the crime victim to the appropriate legal refer18 ral, legal assistance, or legal aid agency. 

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—Notice of release otherwise re20 quired pursuant to this chapter shall not be given if 

21 such notice may endanger the safety of any person. 

22 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT AND LIMITATIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) RIGHTS.—The crime victim, the crime vic24 tim’s lawful representative, and the attorney for the 

25 Government may assert the rights established in this 
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1 chapter. A person accused of the crime may not ob2 tain any form of relief under this chapter. 

3 ‘‘(2) MULTIPLE CRIME VICTIMS.—In a case 

4 where the court finds that the number of crime vic5 tims makes it impracticable to accord all of the 

6 crime victims the rights contained in this chapter, 

7 the court shall fashion a procedure to give effect to 

8 this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(3) WRIT OF MANDAMUS.—If a Federal court 

10 denies any right of a crime victim under this chapter 

11 or under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 

12 the Government or the crime victim may apply for 

13 a writ of mandamus to the appropriate court of ap14 peals. The court of appeals shall take up and decide 

15 such application forthwith and shall order such relief 

16 as may be necessary to protect the crime victim’s 

17 ability to exercise the rights. 

18 ‘‘(4) ERROR.—In any appeal in a criminal case, 

19 the Government may assert as error the district 

20 court’s denial of any crime victim’s right in the pro21 ceeding to which the appeal relates. 

22 ‘‘(5) NEW TRIAL.—In no case shall a failure to 

23 afford a right under this chapter provide grounds for 

24 a new trial. 
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1 ‘‘(6) NO CAUSE OF ACTION.—Nothing in this 

2 chapter shall be construed to authorize a cause of 

3 action for damages. 

4 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this chap5 ter, the term ‘crime victim’ means a person directly and 

6 proximately harmed as a result of the commission of a 

7 Federal offense. In the case of a crime victim who is under 

8 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, 

9 the legal guardians of the crime victim or the representa10 tives of the crime victim’s estate, family members, or any 

11 other persons appointed as suitable by the court, may as12 sume the crime victim’s rights under this chapter, but in 

13 no event shall the defendant be named as such guardian 

14 or representative. 

15 ‘‘(f) PROCEDURES TO PROMOTE COMPLIANCE.—

16 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of enactment of this chapter, the At18 torney General of the United States shall promul19 gate regulations to enforce the rights of crime vic20 tims and to ensure compliance by responsible offi21 cials with the obligations described in law respecting 

22 crime victims. 

23 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The regulations promulgated 

24 under paragraph (1) shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) establish an administrative authority 

2 within the Department of Justice to receive and 

3 investigate complaints relating to the provision 

4 or violation of the rights of a crime victim; 

5 ‘‘(B) require a course of training for em6 ployees and offices of the Department of Jus7 tice that fail to comply with provisions of Fed8 eral law pertaining to the treatment of crime 

9 victims, and otherwise assist such employees 

10 and offices in responding more effectively to the 

11 needs of crime victims; 

12 ‘‘(C) contain disciplinary sanctions, includ13 ing suspension or termination from employ14 ment, for employees of the Department of Jus15 tice who willfully or wantonly fail to comply 

16 with provisions of Federal law pertaining to the 

17 treatment of crime victims; and 

18 ‘‘(D) provide that the Attorney General, or 

19 the designee of the Attorney General, shall be 

20 the final arbiter of the complaint, and that 

21 there shall be no judicial review of the final de22 cision of the Attorney General by a complain23 ant.’’. 
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1 (b) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chapters for 

2 part II of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

3 inserting at the end the following:

‘‘237. Crime victims’ rights ............................................................. 3771’’.

4 (c) REPEAL.—Section 502 of the Victims’ Rights and 

5 Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10606) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 3. INCREASED RESOURCES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF 

7 CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

8 (a) CRIME VICTIMS LEGAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—

9 The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 et 

10 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1404C the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1404D. CRIME VICTIMS LEGAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may make grants 

14 as provided in section 1404(c)(1)(A) to State, tribal, and 

15 local prosecutors’ offices, law enforcement agencies, 

16 courts, jails, and correctional institutions, and to qualified 

17 public and private entities, to develop, establish, and main18 tain programs for the enforcement of crime victims’ rights 

19 as provided in law. 

20 ‘‘(b) FALSE CLAIMS ACT.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law, amounts collected pursuant to sec22 tions 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code 

23 (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’), may be used 

24 for grants under this section, subject to appropriation.’’. 
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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi2 tion to funds made available under section 1402(d) of the 

3 Victims of Crime Act of 1984, there are authorized to be 

4 appropriated to carry out this Act—

5 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 and 

6 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006, 2007, 

7 2008, and 2009 to United States Attorneys Offices 

8 for Victim/Witnesses Assistance Programs; 

9 (2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 and 

10 $5,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2006, 2007, 

11 2008, and 2009, to the Office for Victims of Crime 

12 of the Department of Justice for enhancement of the 

13 Victim Notification System; 

14 (3) $300,000 in fiscal year 2005 and $500,000 

15 for each of the fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 

16 2009, to the Office for Victims of Crime of the De17 partment of Justice for staff to administer the ap18 propriation for the support of the National Crime 

19 Victim Law Institute or other organizations as des20 ignated under paragraph (4); 

21 (4) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 and 

22 $11,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006, 2007, 

23 2008, and 2009, to the Office for Victims of Crime 

24 of the Department of Justice, for the support of—
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1 (A) the National Crime Victim Law Insti2 tute and the establishment and operation of the 

3 Institute’s programs to provide counsel for vic4 tims in criminal cases for the enforcement of 

5 crime victims’ rights in Federal jurisdictions, 

6 and in States and tribal governments that have 

7 laws substantially equivalent to the provisions 

8 of chapter 237 of title 18, United States Code; 

9 or 

10 (B) other organizations substantially simi11 lar to that organization as determined by the 

12 Director of the Office for Victims of Crime. 

13 (c) INCREASED RESOURCES TO DEVELOP STATE-OF14 THE-ART SYSTEMS FOR NOTIFYING CRIME VICTIMS OF

15 IMPORTANT DATES AND DEVELOPMENTS.—The Victims 

16 of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.) is amend17 ed by inserting after section 1404D the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1404E. CRIME VICTIMS NOTIFICATION GRANTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may make grants 

20 as provided in section 1404(c)(1)(A) to State, tribal, and 

21 local prosecutors’ offices, law enforcement agencies, 

22 courts, jails, and correctional institutions, and to qualified 

23 public or private entities, to develop and implement state24 of-the-art systems for notifying victims of crime of impor25 tant dates and developments relating to the criminal pro-
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1 ceedings at issue in a timely and efficient manner, pro2 vided that the jurisdiction has laws substantially equiva3 lent to the provisions of chapter 237 of title 18, United 

4 States Code. 

5 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS.—Systems developed 

6 and implemented under this section may be integrated 

7 with existing case management systems operated by the 

8 recipient of the grant. 

9 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad10 dition to funds made available under section 1402(d), 

11 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

12 section—

13 ‘‘(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

14 ‘‘(2) $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

15 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. 

16 ‘‘(d) FALSE CLAIMS ACT.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of law, amounts collected pursuant to sec18 tions 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code 

19 (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’), may be used 

20 for grants under this section, subject to appropriation.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. REPORTS. 

22 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED

23 STATES COURTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Ad25 ministrative Office of the United States Courts, for each 
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1 Federal court, shall report to Congress the number of 

2 times that a right established in chapter 237 of title 18, 

3 United States Code, is asserted in a criminal case and the 

4 relief requested is denied and, with respect to each such 

5 denial, the reason for such denial, as well as the number 

6 of times a mandamus action is brought pursuant to chap7 ter 237 of title 18, and the result reached. 

8 (b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.—

9 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall 

10 conduct a study that evaluates the effect and effi11 cacy of the implementation of the amendments made 

12 by this Act on the treatment of crime victims in the 

13 Federal system. 

14 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen16 eral shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

17 committees a report containing the results of the 

18 study conducted under subsection (a).

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