Victims’ rights never trump the rights of the accused. There is only one person who is facing a criminal conviction, facing possibly being a registered sex offender, facing the loss of their liberty, facing going to jail, and facing the loss of their liberty. That person is the defendant accused of the crime. The accused’s rights always trump the rights of anyone else in the courtroom.
The alleged victim of the crime does have rights. He or she may have a right to a victim’s legal counsel. They may have the right not to testify and not to go through an investigation. They may have rights to object to evidence which is unduly embarrassing or otherwise private. Ultimately, their rights are about protecting their privacy and giving them a voice in the process whereas the rights of the accused are preeminent.
We have tremendous experience dealing with aggressive victim’s lawyers seeking to limit the rights of our clients. We’ve seen all the tricks that can be played to attempt to violate the rights of those accused. Ultimately, we have a very long track record of prevailing in our battles with the victim’s rights communities when their positions seek to limit the Constitutional rights of our client.
While the “victim” is usually the person we are litigating against, there are other cases where the alleged victim is willing to cooperate with the defense. Perhaps the prosecutors aren’t responding to the needs of the accuser, or perhaps they are seeking more serious punishment than the alleged victim is comfortable with. In many cases, we can work with the alleged victim directly to resolve a case out of court.
Modern changes to the law, made throughout the #MeToo era, have brought many additional rights to alleged victims of crimes. Cases are even sent back for reconsideration or retrial where victim rights are violated. It is critical to have an attorney with recent and prolific experience in sex crime litigation in the #MeToo era.
