An omnibus public safety bill that is set to go into law on August 1 will give a new voice to crime victims hoping to ensure justice prevails.
The 81-page public safety bill touches on a range of subjects, but it’s the part on crime victim rights that caught our attention the most. In today’s blog, we take a look at some of the changes that will go into effect this week which aim to give crime victims more autonomy while a criminal matter is playing out.
New Victim Rights
According to the bill, it will:
- Require a prosecutor to make a good faith effort to inform a crime victim of an impending plea agreement. Prosecutors will also be required to inform the victim if the perpetrator will be eligible for automatic expungment to any offense pleaded to or dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
- Ensure that crime victims have the right to object to a plea agreement at a plea hearing.
- Require judges to ask if a victim has an objection to a proposed plea agreement.
Finding out that a perpetrator got off with a slap on the wrist can be a traumatizing experience for a victim who is still trying to process the event on their own terms. These changes ensure that victims are given more of a voice in the situation. That’s not to say that they’ll be able to have a plea deal thrown out because they are the only ones that object to the proposed terms, but if they are strongly opposed to the plea, they will be guaranteed a chance in court to state their case. Forcing judges and prosecutors to relay critical details about plea deals and their rights as a victim will also ensure nothing happens without a victim knowing what could be coming down the pipeline.
We don’t yet know which crimes would force these changes into effect, but it seems likely that assaults, batteries, criminal sexual conduct and domestic violence cases would likely be on the list. We’ll likely learn more about the law when it officially goes into effect on August 1, and we’ll provide more information if the changes warrant more detail on our end.
And as always, if you or someone you know needs legal defense in the greater Twin Cities area, we hope you’ll connect with Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
