Courtney Wild Crime Victims’ Rights Reform Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9444 | Sponsor: Rep. Speier, Jackie (D-CA)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Courtney Wild Crime Victims' Rights Reform Act of 2022
This bill expands the rights of crime victims, including by (1) allowing victims to make motions requesting that the government seek to void prosecutorial agreements, and (2) providing for attorneys' fees for victims who prevail against the United States in enforcement actions.

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

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Courtney Wild Crime Victims' Rights 
Reform Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS.

    Section 3771 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``Government in 
                the case'' and inserting ``Government, including the 
                right to confer about any agreement that resolves the 
                case or investigation, plea agreement, pre-trial 
                diversion agreement, or voluntary dismissal before such 
                agreement or dismissal is presented to the court or is 
                otherwise formally executed'';
                    (B) by amending paragraph (9) to read as follows:
            ``(9) The right to be informed in a timely manner of any 
        plea agreement, or other agreement that resolves the case or 
        investigation, pretrial diversion agreement, or the referral of 
        a criminal investigation to another Federal, State, Tribal, or 
        local law enforcement entity.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (10), by striking ``contact 
                information for the Office of the Victims' Rights 
                Ombudsman of the Department of Justice'' and inserting 
                ``a crime victims' rights card, contact information for 
                the Office of the Crime Victims' Rights Ombudsman of 
                the Department of Justice, and information about 
                sources of legal assistance related to the exercise of 
                these rights, including that the victim has the right 
                to seek the advice of an attorney with respect to these 
                rights'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting after the first 
        sentence the following: ``The court shall also confirm with the 
        Government, that the Government has complied with its 
        obligation to accord the rights described in subsection (a).'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) Government.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Officers and employees of the 
                Department of Justice and other departments and 
                agencies of the United States engaged in the detection, 
                investigation, or prosecution of crimes shall make 
                their best efforts to see that crime victims are 
                notified of, and accorded, the rights described in 
                subsection (a).
                    ``(B) Request for delay.--
                            ``(i) Circumstances.--If charges pertaining 
                        to the victim have not been publicly filed, and 
                        the Government determines that according one or 
                        more of the rights described in subsection (a) 
                        would threaten the safety of an individual, 
                        interfere with an ongoing investigation or 
                        prosecution, compromise national security, or 
                        result in premature disclosure of material 
                        nonpublic information, the Government may 
                        request leave from the court to delay according 
                        the right for the limited period of time 
                        necessary to avoid the harm or until charges 
                        are publicly filed, whichever comes first.
                            ``(ii) Court procedure.--The court shall 
                        review a submission made by the Government 
                        along with its request, the court may grant 
                        such request if it is supported by clear and 
                        convincing evidence. The Court shall maintain a 
                        record of the Government's request and its 
                        ruling on the matter, which shall be provided 
                        to the victim at the conclusion of the delay.
                            ``(iii) Duration.--An order by a court 
                        granting a request for a delay under this 
                        subparagraph shall be for a period that does 
                        not exceed 90 days, except that the Government 
                        may, for good cause, apply for an extension of 
                        the delay period. The granting of a delay under 
                        this subparagraph shall not constitute grounds 
                        for failing to ultimately accord a right to any 
                        victim.
                    ``(C) Court-ordered remedies.--If a court finds 
                that the Government failed to comply with subparagraph 
                (A), it may order an appropriate remedy under the 
                circumstances, in accordance with subsection (d).
                    ``(D) Pro bono legal representation for victims.--
                To the extent practicable, and consistent with 
                applicable ethical standards and rules of professional 
                conduct, the Government shall provide to the crime 
                victim general information on how to seek available pro 
                bono legal representation for the purpose of asserting 
                the rights under this section.''; and
                    (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) Advice of attorney.--Officers and employees of the 
        Department of Justice and other departments and agencies of the 
        United States engaged in the detection, investigation, or 
        prosecution of the alleged crime shall advise the crime victim 
        in writing that the crime victim can seek the advice of an 
        attorney with respect to the rights described in subsection 
        (a).'';
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting after the period 
                at the end the following: ``The procedure fashioned by 
                the court under this paragraph shall have no effect on 
                the duty of officers and employees of the Government to 
                make their best efforts to accord crime victims the 
                rights described in subsection (a).'';
                    (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
            ``(3) Motion for relief and writ of mandamus.--
                    ``(A) Motion for relief.--The rights described in 
                subsection (a) shall be asserted in the district court 
                in which a defendant is being prosecuted or has been 
                prosecuted for the crime. If no prosecution is underway 
                at the time of the motion for relief, the rights 
                described in subsection (a) shall be asserted in the 
                district court in the district in which the crime is 
                alleged to have occurred. The motion may be filed in an 
                existing criminal case or, if no complaint, 
                information, or indictment has been filed at that time, 
                by a separate rights enforcement action.
                    ``(B) Review of motion for relief.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The district court shall 
                        take up and decide any motion or separate civil 
                        action asserting a victim's right forthwith.
                            ``(ii) Additional information.--If the 
                        district court determines that additional 
                        information is relevant to the movant's 
                        assertion of the right, the Government shall 
                        promptly provide all such additional 
                        information to the court and movant. The court 
                        may, for good cause, allow the Government to 
                        provide a substantive summary of such 
                        information instead of providing the 
                        information itself. Upon the Government's 
                        request, the court shall enter an appropriate 
                        protective order governing dissemination and 
                        use of any information or substantive summary 
                        provided under this clause.
                            ``(iii) Written opinion required for denial 
                        of relief.--If the district court denies the 
                        relief sought by the movant, the court shall 
                        enter a written opinion, which clearly states 
                        the reasons for the denial.
                    ``(C) Writ of mandamus.--If the court denies a 
                motion described in subparagraph (A), the movant may 
                petition the court of appeals for a writ of mandamus. 
                The court of appeals may issue the writ on the order of 
                a single judge pursuant to circuit rule or the Federal 
                Rules of Appellate Procedure. The court of appeals 
                shall take up and decide such application forthwith 
                within 72 hours after the petition has been filed, 
                unless the litigants, with notice to the court, have 
                agreed to a longer time period for consideration. In 
                deciding such application, the court of appeals shall 
                determine the merits of the application and, in making 
                such determination, shall apply ordinary standards of 
                appellate review to any procedural or substantive 
                issues. If the court of appeals denies the relief 
                sought, the reasons for the denial shall be clearly 
                stated on the record in a written order or opinion.'';
                    (C) by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
            ``(5) Re-opening proceedings.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In no case shall a failure to 
                afford a right under this chapter provide grounds for a 
                new trial.
                    ``(B) Victims who received timely notice.--A victim 
                who received timely notice of the relevant proceedings 
                may make a motion or file a separate enforcement action 
                to reopen a plea or sentence only if--
                            ``(i) the victim has asserted the right to 
                        be heard before or during the proceeding at 
                        issue and such right was denied;
                            ``(ii) the victim petitions the court of 
                        appeals for a writ of mandamus in a timely 
                        manner; and
                            ``(iii) in the case of a plea, the accused 
                        has not pleaded guilty to the highest offense 
                        charged, and in the case of a sentencing, the 
                        accused has not been sentenced to the statutory 
                        maximum.
                    ``(C) Victims who did not receive timely notice.--A 
                victim who did not receive timely notice of the 
                relevant proceedings may make a motion or file a 
                separate enforcement action to reopen a plea or 
                sentence, only if--
                            ``(i) the victim makes such a motion or 
                        files such a separate enforcement action in a 
                        timely manner; and
                            ``(ii) in the case of a plea, the accused 
                        has not pleaded guilty to the highest offense 
                        charged, and in the case of a sentencing, the 
                        accused has not been sentenced to the statutory 
                        maximum.'';
                    (D) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 
                (9); and
                    (E) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) Motion to annul prosecutorial agreements.--A crime 
        victim may make a motion requesting that the Government seek to 
        void a deferred prosecution agreement or non-prosecution 
        agreement by filing a motion with the court in writing 
        asserting that they were not accorded the reasonable right to 
        confer in subsection (a)(5). Upon a finding by the court that 
        the victim's right under subsection (a)(5) was violated, the 
        court may order the Government to confer with the victim. If, 
        after conferring with the victim, the Government determines 
        that it would not have entered into the agreement or would have 
        sought to enter into an agreement with different terms, then 
        the Government may, with the consent of the defendant, withdraw 
        from the agreement, or seek to modify the agreement.
            ``(7) Remedies.--Upon a finding that a victim's rights 
        under this section have been violated, the court shall order a 
        just and appropriate remedy, which may include reopening a 
        proceeding, to address such violation, except that any such 
        remedy may not violate a defendant's constitutional rights and 
        shall account for the interests of other victims and the 
        public. An order under this paragraph, or under paragraph (5) 
        or (6), shall not be construed to impair prosecutorial 
        discretion under paragraph (6).
            ``(8) Attorneys' fees.--A crime victim who prevails against 
        the United States in an action to enforce a right under this 
        section shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys' 
        fees and expenses, as provided in section 2412 of title 28.'';
            (5) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) Court of appeals.--The term `court of appeals' 
        means--
                    ``(A) the United States court of appeals for--
                            ``(i) the judicial district in which a 
                        district court has rendered a decision for 
                        which the victim seeks appellate review;
                            ``(ii) if no such decision has been 
                        rendered, the judicial district in which the 
                        defendant is being prosecuted; or
                            ``(iii) if there is no such prosecution, 
                        the judicial district in which the offense was 
                        alleged to have been committed; or
                    ``(B) for a prosecution or offense committed in the 
                District of Columbia, in the Superior Court of the 
                District of Columbia, or the District of Columbia Court 
                of Appeals.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Timely.--The term `timely' means sufficient time for 
        the victim to exercise their rights under this section, and in 
        accordance with any applicable rules of procedure.''; and
            (6) by striking subsection (f).

SEC. 3. JUDICIAL TRAINING ON THE RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director of the Federal Judicial Center shall, in consultation with 
victims' rights and services groups--
            (1) create a guidebook for Federal judges and judicial 
        employees explaining legal requirements regarding crime 
        victims' rights and best practices for affording those rights 
        in judicial proceedings; and
            (2) incorporate the concepts from the guidebook in the 
        Federal Judicial Center's judicial orientation training.

SEC. 4. CRIME VICTIM LEGAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

    Section 1404D of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20107) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to funds made 
available under section 1402(d), there are authorized to be 
appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury to carry out this 
section $13,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 
and 2026.''.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS.

    (a) Authority.--The Attorney General, acting through the Ombudsman 
of the Office of Crime Victims' Rights, may award a grant to an 
eligible nonprofit entity or tribal organization, in order to provide 
for the establishment and operation of a national resource center on 
crime victims' rights. The resource center shall provide information 
and assistance to lawyers and organizations that provide legal 
assistance to aid in efforts to advocate for crime victims' rights in 
Federal jurisdictions and in States and tribal jurisdictions that have 
laws substantially similar to the provisions of section 3771 of title 
18, United States Code.
    (b) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity or organization shall submit an application to the 
Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may require, including information 
that demonstrates that the entity or organization has nationally 
recognized expertise in the area of crime victims' rights.
    (c) Use of Grant Amount.--An entity or organization that receives a 
grant under this section may use the funds made available through the 
grant for staff salaries, travel expenses, equipment, printing, and 
other reasonable expenses necessary to develop, maintain, and 
disseminate to lawyers and organizations described in subsection (a), 
information and assistance concerning legal representation to assist 
victims of a crime.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury to carry out this 
section $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
    (e) Availability of Grant Funds.--Funds appropriated under this 
section shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 6. STREAMLINING VICTIM NOTIFICATION.

    Section 3664(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The probation officer'' 
        and inserting ``Subject to paragraph (7), the probation 
        officer''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Paragraph (2) shall not apply if an officer or 
        employee of the Department of Justice or other department or 
        agency of the United States provides to a victim notice and an 
        affidavit form under section 3771(c)(1) before the probation 
        officer submits a presentence report under subsection (a).''.
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