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April 2000 ~ Anne M. Cox ~ The text on this page was offered in 1997 in support of an earlier version of a Constitutional Amendment to protect the rights of crime victims. I do not support the amended language reflected in SJR 3, offering rights to certain victims, but not to all, and seeming to rule out remedy if victims' rights are not upheld, overlooked or plainly neglected.
~ Website ~
~ Constitutional Amendment (Position Statement) ~
April 2001 ~ National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network ~ U.S. Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have drafted a revised federal Victims' Rights Amendment. Kyl and Feinstein, the U.S. Senate's leading proponents for permanent, fundamental rights for crime victims, will introduce the final version of their revised amendment during Victims' Rights Week, April 22 - 29, 2001.
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Vic Fazio
Third District, California
July 10, 1997
Anne Cox
Children's Protection & Advocacy Coalition
[Former Address]
Dear Friend:
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the judicial system
with me.
I certainly understand the frustration you must feel in your
attempts to obtain the court records that you refer to in your
letter. As you know, the Victim's Rights Amendment would guarantee
the right for victims to be included in all public proceedings,
as well as guarantee the right of victims to be heard and submit
written statements at proceedings to determine a release from
custody, acceptance of a plea bargain, sentencing, and parole
proceedings.
The Victim's Rights Amendment is currently being considered by
the House Judiciary Committee and will soon be holding hearings
on this very important matter. No one should have to go through
the pain and suffering like you have had to endure.
I appreciate your support for the Crime Victim's Amendment, and
I will keep your views in mind.
Sincerely,
Vic Fazio
Member of Congress
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
John T. Doolittle
4th District, California
May 7, 1997
Ms. Anne M. Cox
Children's Protection & Advocacy Coalition
[Former Address]
Dear Ms. Cox:
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the Crime Victim's
Rights constitutional amendment. It was good to hear from you.
As you are aware, Senators Kyl and Feinstein introduced Senate
Resolution 6 this session of Congress. This legislation is a
joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States to protect the rights of crime victims. On
March 19, the resolution was referred to the Senate Committee
on the Judiciary's subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism
and Property Rights. Be assured, should I have the opportunity
to vote on this or similar legislation, I will carefully consider
your concerns.
Thank you for sharing your concerns with my office and please
feel free to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,
John T. Doolittle
United States Representative
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1 (415) 840-0371
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April 4, 1997
The Honorable John Doolittle
U.S. House of Representatives
1526 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Doolittle:
Senators Jon Kyl (AZ) and Dianne
Feinstein (CA) introduced the Crime Victims' Rights Constitutional
Amendment in the U.S. Senate, and I am writing with the hope
that you will support the proposed law intended to positively
affect the lives of crime victims.
To be honest, Representative Doolittle, it feels as if approaching
you with this respectful request - for you to offer support for
the victims' rights amendment - needs a preface: an apology.
Saying "I'm sorry" stems from having been victimized
by the legal process that I had previously believed was designed
to protect people such as myself - the millions of Americans
who have had our lives devastated by crime.
Never before had I felt the need to apologize so frequently as
I have since reporting crimes committed against me in [year cited
in the letter sent and not here to preserve the integrity of
the case]. The process has left each victim in the case feeling
as if we're invisible, we have no rights, and we have no one
protecting us from further victimization. I trust that I needn't
worry the offenders may sue me (in addition to the violations
of criminal law they've committed) for relating privileged information
to you that better explains my reasons for knowing, without a
doubt, why there needs to be an amendment formally and legally
recognizing that victims have rights. [Details of a case were
originally included and, yet, omitted here to avoid compromising
any reports or the case.]
I thought that a lot had changed since [years omitted]: I was
a witness (for the prosecution) called to testify in a criminal
case against a child molester/rapist, drug dealer, and pornographer
in [the name of the] County. I was a minor when offenses were
initially committed against me and others by the predator in
the case; I was naive during the legal process that unfolded
back then, and believed that the feeling of having been stripped
of all dignity was not due to the way people had treated me,
but from the steps that are routine in the gathering of physical
evidence and in presenting a case. I know better now; I saw the
overwhelming evidence that should have put the offender behind
prison bars for years.
I was in the offender's residence right before the execution
of the search warrant by undercover vice/narcotics officers [names
omitted]. I had driven Detective ... who cradled a shotgun -
while he hid on the floorboard near the back seat of his [car]
- to the offender's residence. I was escorted to an unmarked
unit ... to be with a friend and an officer, to observe, as the
search progressed. I was at the ... Police Department as officers
persisted in the search for several hours .... I was in the prosecutor's
office the day the case went before a judge, and the evidence
sat before me.
I know not, though, what happened in that courtroom, Representative
Doolittle. It was deemed a "closed hearing," and I
was sequestered in a hallway outside, where I was instructed
to wait until the bailiff came for me. I could see Detective
... through a tiny, vertical window in the door, but I could
hear nothing of his testimony.
I was told that the offender ... was in ... jail and would be
going to prison. I was not told, however, that
the man who had raped and battered me would drive up to the same
island of a Union 76 gas station ... at the same time I was there
and he would start speaking as if he had not a worry in the world.
While I remember each officer's name and how kind they were to
me, I don't know what happened in the courtroom; the records
were sealed for years.... when I tried to access the documents
by visiting the court ... and by speaking with a clerk, because
a crisis counselor thought that seeing the transcripts might
facilitate my ability to heal, the records couldn't be produced.
Had someone told me, during or following that case, that I might
want to obtain a copy of the documents to see eventually or whether
it was even possible, I may have done so long before there was
a possibility that the transcripts might be destroyed or be rendered
inaccessible; I had no idea, back then, what the future might
have held in store.
I know nothing about the dispensation or any plea agreement that
might have been reached in a case in which I was called as the
State's only civilian witness [since the prosecutor, for whatever
reasons, chose not to call the other victims as witnesses]. The
antecedent to that case (molestation and rape) shaped my life
for years and set a course for repeated victimization.
Having access to the court transcripts as an adult would have
been extremely beneficial, and may have helped me understand
exactly what took place so that I could have known much sooner
that it wasn't me who did something wrong; it was something that
took place between the prosecuting and defense attorneys - a
result of their discussions. I saw the evidence, and the predator
should have been in prison, as I thought he would be and not
at any gas station.
Perhaps some professionals in law enforcement have had to reconcile
with the reality that there are plea bargains made, they aren't
notified or kept informed of all proceedings, and that they don't
have an opportunity to make an impact statement, and yet these
are fundamental human needs that reinforce the fact that crime
victims are worthy of being treated with dignity and with a level
of respect for their rights, at least as comparable to what the
accused receives.
It makes a victim feel like nothing when excluded from important
steps - in the process - that have a direct effect on their lives.
I urge you, Representative Doolittle, support the Crime Victims'
Rights Constitutional Amendment, and will look forward to
hearing from you....
Anne M. Cox, Founding Member
Children's Protection & Advocacy Coalition
cc: National Victim Center
 Click Here to Read More |
Links
Updated: April 17, 2001
Alaska
- Justice Center Web Site
California
Board of Prison Terms: Victim Services
Captain
Michael J. Paladino, Retired
Colorado
Organization for Victim Assistance
Fight
Crime - Invest in Kids
Florida
Network of Victim/Witness Services
Handgun
Control Inc.
Indiana
Victim Assistance Network
Iowa
Organization for Victim Assistance
Justice
For All
Kansas
Organization for Victim Assistance
Kathy
Copley, Victims' Advocate
Keep
Schools Safe
Los
Angeles (DA's) Victim-Witness Assistance Program
Michigan
Crime Victims Website
Missouri
Victim Assistance Network
National
Center for Victims of Crime
National
School Safety Center
North
Carolina Victim Assistance Network
North
Carolina Dept. of Correction - Victim Advocacy Services
North
Carolina Victim & Justice Services Division
Office
for Victims of Crime - U.S. Department of Justice
South
Carolina Victim Assistance Network
Victim-Assistance
Online
Victims
Services Criminal Justice Links
Victim
Services
Washington
(state) Coalition of Crime Victim Advocates
Wisconsin
Office of Crime Victim Services
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