In recent years, policy makers have sought to give victims a greater voice in the criminal justice system. On the federal level, victims have been given the right to notice about key developments in criminal cases, consultation about a prosecutor’s plea and sentencing decisions, and compensation in the case of financial injury. In 2004, Congress passed the Crime Victim Rights Act (CVRA), which specified eight rights of victims, some of which were already part of federal law. Unlike earlier legislation, the CVRA imposed on federal courts the obligation to “ensure” that victims are “afforded” these rights and established procedures for victims to assert their rights in the district court and appeal denials by petitioning for writs of mandamus.
In this article, we discuss the basic provisions of the CVRA and court decisions interpreting its reach. We then consider application of the CVRA in white-collar cases. To be sure, advocacy by putative victims can exert influence on prosecutors and courts in a manner that complicates defense of a white-collar case. At the same time, the rights of putative victims may, on occasion, give rise to disclosures that assist the defense, as we discuss further below.
