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2004 CRIME VICTIMS' BILL OF RIGHTS
The Victim Witness Assistance Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office provides services for victims and witnesses of federal crimes. Our staff provide case status information, education regarding the federal criminal justice system, court accompaniment, crisis intervention, referrals to various social service organizations in the county, state and other federal agencies.
It is our goal to ensure that crime victims and witnesses are afforded their rights and treated fairly during the prosecution process.
Victims’ Rights
Federal crime victims* have the following rights, as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3771:
(1) The right to be reasonably protected from the accused.
(2) The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused.
(3) The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding.
(4) The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding.
(5) The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case.
(6) The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law.
(7) The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay.
(8) The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy.
We will make our best efforts to ensure you are accorded the rights described.
You can seek the advice of an attorney with respect to these rights, Section 3771(c)(2).
If you are a federal crime victim and believe that an employee of the United States Attorney's Office failed to provide you with one or more of these rights, you may file an administrative complaint, as provided under 28 CFR § 41.10. Please contact the Victim Witness Coordinator in the United States Attorney’s Office to obtain information about these procedures or the internet site for the Office of the Victims’ Rights Ombudsman at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/vr/index.html for further guidance and copies of the requisite forms.
* According to the act, a victim is “a person directly and proximately harmed as a result of the commission of a Federal offense or an offense in the District of Columbia. In the case of a crime victim who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardians of the crime victim or representatives of the crime victim’s estate, family members, or any other persons appointed suitable by the court, may assume the crime victim’s right under this chapter, but in no event shall the defendant be named as such guardian or representative.”
Case Information
If you are a victim of a federal crime charged and filed in this district, we can notify you of:
- the arrest of a suspected offender;
- the nature of the charges against a suspected offender;
- the scheduling of each court proceeding that you are either required or entitled to attend;
- the pre-trial release on bail or detention status of a suspected offender;
- the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or the rendering of a verdict after trial; and
- the sentence imposed on an offender.
If you have any questions, please contact our Victim Witness Coordinator at 215.861.8200.
- Information re: U.S. v. Arthur Toll, Bruce Edmundson and Elliot Fisher [Regal Communications - Securities Fraud]
- Information re: U.S.
v. Melvin D. Shaw: Press Release;
and Indictment
- Information re: U.S.
v. Thomas Massara: Press Release; and Indictment
- Information re: U.S. v. Norman Shapiro, Howard Coff, Marc Feldman.: Press Release; and Indictment
- Information re: GoInternet case (U.S. v. Neal Saferstein, Tyrone Barr, and Billy Light) Press Release; Indictment; USAPAE.CaseInformation@usdoj.gov
Defendant Tyrone Barr pled Guilty on September 22, 2009. His sentencing date is January 11, 2010.
Defendant Neal Saferstein is scheduled to go to trial on November 2, 2009 (with jury selection scheduled for October 1-2, 2009). - Information re: U.S. v. Lizette Morice a/k/a Gaddel Enterprises
Victim/Witness Resources
*NOTE: The following organizations are some, but not all, of the organizations available to assist crime victims. No such organization is affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Attorney's Office and you should independently consider and assess any services that such organizations and others may offer.
General Victim/Witness Resources
- National Organization for Victim
Assistance
1.800.TRY-NOVA - National Center for Victims of Crime
1.800.FYI.CALL - Pennsylvania Crime Victim Assistance
Bureau
1.800.233.2339
Fraud
- U. S. Social Security Administration
1.800.269.0271 - National Fraud Information Center
1.800.876.7060 - Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
619.298.3396 - Pennsylvania Real
Estate Service
1.877.366.8257
Children
- Childhelp USA (Child Abuse
Hotline)
1.800.4A.CHILD - National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children
1.800.843.5678 - National Clearinghouse
on Child Abuse and Neglect
1.800.394.3366 - Children's Advocacy
Center
321.387.9500 - Children's Crisis
Treatment Center
215.496.0707 - St. Gabriel's System
(Serves children and teenagers who are victims of crime.)
215.665.8777 - Support Center for
Child Advocacy
(Child Abuse and Neglect, Medically Needy Children, Kids'n Kin, Adoption)
215.925.1913
Women/Family
- Battered Women's
Justice Project
1.800.903.0111 ext. 3 - National Domestic Violence Hotline
1.800.799.SAFE - Rape, Abuse &
Incest National Network
1.800.656.4673 - Resource Center
on Domestic Violence, Child Protection and Custody
1.800.527.3233 - Family Violence
Prevention Fund/Health Resource Center
1.800.313.1310 - Women Against Abuse
215.686.7082 (Legal Center)
215.386.7777 (Hotline) - Women in Transition
215.564.5301
215.751.1111 (Hotline) - Women Organized
Against Rape
215.985.3315
215.985.3333 (Hotline) - Lutheran Settlement
House/Bilingual Domestic Violence Project
215.426.8610 (English/Spanish) - Congreso De Latinos
Unidos
215.978.1174 (Domestic Violence Hotline) - Rape and Crime Victims/Trauma
Survivors Program Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety
215.898.0602
Seniors
- National Elder Care
Locator Services Hotline
1.800.677.1116 - Action Alliance
Elderly Victim Assistance Program
215.557.0756 - Commission on Services
for the Aging
215.686.3505 - Philadelphia Corporation
for Aging
215.765.9040 - Center for Advocacy
for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE)
215.545.5728 - Philadelphia Corporation
for the Aging/Older Adult Protective Services
215.765.9033
Legal Services
- Legal Service Corp.
202.336.8800 - Community Legal
Service
215.981.3700 - Crime Victims' Legal
Center
215.772.7680 - Philadelphia Bar
Association Lawyer Referral Service
215.722.5850