Legislating Victim Rights 9. Over the past few years, more and more states have passed legislation to provide specific rights to victims of juvenile offenders. Some states limit their rights to victims of juveniles whose cases would have been felonies if committed by adults. In these instances, victims of misdemeanor property offenses have fewer rights.
Many states have a fairly comprehensive list of rights for victims of serious juvenile offenses.
HIV testing of sexual assault suspects, sex offender registration, offenders not being allowed to attend the same school as the victim, and not sealing records of violent juvenile sex offenders. In this brochure, we compare the needs reported by victims of juvenile offenders to legislation found in different states which are often unique and attempt to address those needs expressed by the majority of victims. Kansas provides the victims the right to request a hearing on a juvenile offender's alleged violation of the conditions of probation or placement. They reported feeling the courts expressed an insensitive attitude. Some states such as Alabama and Idaho include victims of juvenile offenders in their constitutional amendment or bill of rights, while other states such as Arizona and Michigan have a separate set of statutes providing rights for victims of juvenile offenders.