by MCVRC Webmaster | Jan 16, 2020 | Press Releases
Protection of Child, Disabled, and Elderly Victims Law and Funding
This new law serves to protect the rights of child, disabled and elderly victims. Under this law, a Judge may appoint a guardian ad litem, if it is determined that there is no one available who is able to adequately assert the victim’s rights. Once appointed, the function of the guardian ad litem will be to ensure that victims who are minors, disabled, or elderly are afforded the rights provided to them by law. The Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention provided funding to the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center for a new staff attorney to serve as a guardian ad litem for victims who are minors, disabled, or elderly. This new law became effective on Oct. 1, 2014.
Alex’s Law – Statement by Victim or Victim’s Representative
Alex’s Law (named after an actual victim) requires a court in a sentencing or disposition hearing to allow a victim or the victim’s representative to address the court under oath before the court imposes a sentence or makes another disposition in a case. For the victims of violent crimes the opportunity to briefly speak before a court and describe the impact on their lives can help them find resolution and move on with their lives.
Prior to this change, the law provided that courts “may” allow victim impact statements. As such, a victim or victim’s representative was only authorized to address the court if a request was made by the prosecuting attorney or if the victim had filed a notification request form. Not unexpectedly, the filing of a notification request form was often overlooked by the victim or the victim’s representative who are dealing with the stress of the crime or the devastation brought on upon learning of the death of a loved one. Months later, some victims found themselves denied the opportunity to address the courts.
Under the new law, Maryland legislators use the stronger language of “shall,” to clarify their intent while still allowing a judge discretion to deny victim impact statements when allowing such statements would be unpractical. As a result, a victim or victim’s representative does not have to rely on a request submitted by the prosecuting attorney and may request permission to address the court during the sentencing or other disposition phase regardless of whether they have previously submitted a notification request form.
The Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, Inc. (MCVRC) provided legislative drafting assistance and advocated for this statutory change. As part of its counseling and legal assistance functions MCVRC assists victims and victim’s representatives secure their right to address the court and assists them in crafting their statements. This law significantly enhances the goals of the MCVRC.
The law was approved in April 2014 and took effect on October 1, 2014.
by MCVRC Webmaster | Jan 16, 2020 | Press Releases
The United States Sentencing Commission has released a video to help educate crime victims of their rights to participate in the sentencing process.
Video: http://www.ussc.gov/videos/victims-rights-and-federal-sentencing
by MCVRC Webmaster | Dec 10, 2019 | Press Releases
On Wednesday, December 16, 2019, Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. (MCVRC), on behalf of a crime victim representative whose daughter was killed by a felon fleeing from the police who crashed into her daughter’s vehicle on the Baltimore Washington Parkway on June 24, 2019, after the defendant side swiped a marked police cruiser. The victim’s representative requested and received from the Federal District Court in Maryland at Greenbelt a $10,337 restitution award at sentencing. The defendant, Darnell Basset, who pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, by United States District Judge George Hazel, despite recommendations for a higher sentence from the Office of the United States Attorney, the court’s presentence report, and the victim representative’s counsel. At the time of the offense, the defendant, who had two prior felony convictions, was on court supervised release, having been released from imprisonment 10 weeks earlier. Currency in the amount of $550 that was seized from the defendant at the time of his arrest was ordered released to the victim.
MCVRC attorney Victor Stone represented the victim’s representative at this Maryland sentencing in Federal Court, who, like her deceased daughter, lived out of state.
MCVRC is a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that the rights of victims of crime are fully implemented and that crime victims are treated with dignity and compassion. MCVRC (www.mdcrimevictims.org/help) offers free legal representation, grief counseling, and other assistance. MCVRC can be reached, toll free, at 1-877-VICTIM-1.
by MCVRC Webmaster | Dec 3, 2019 | Press Releases
Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center attorney Richard Hoffman successfully argued that the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) could not shortchange a victim’s state authorized compensation because they were eligible for compensation from Montgomery County. In 2019, his client, Stephanie Frazier, received $2,500 from Montgomery County for the funeral expenses to bury her murdered son Stephen and applied for to the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) for the state authorized amount to cover the remaining $5,000 in burial expenses.
The CICB denied the application, arguing that it was required to reduce any support it provided to Stephen Frazier’s family by the amount they received from Montgomery County’s VASAP Fund. The Frazier family sought help from victims’ right attorney Richard Hoffman. He argued that the VASAP Fund was established to supplement awards to crime victims by the CICB and to provide funds expeditiously to needy victims. To impose a reduction of the CICB award based on a VASAP award would frustrate the entire purpose and effect of VASAP and leave a victim in the same position as if VASAP did not exist. Circuit Court of Montgomery County Judge Cheryl A, McCally agreed, holding that “…the CICB should coordinate with VASAP when determining Petitioner’s award, rather than shortchanging the victim based on an erroneous application of the Maryland Code that calls for a reduction of CICB funds in the amount of any funds received from other sources.”
MCVRC is a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that the rights of victims of crime are fully implemented and that crime victims are treated with dignity and compassion. MCVRC (www.mdcrimevictims.org/help) offers free legal representation, grief counseling, and other assistance. Its attorneys represent crime victims from each of the Maryland Counties and Baltimore City. MCVRC can be reached, toll free, at 1-877-VICTIM-
by MCVRC Webmaster | Nov 6, 2019 | Press Releases
On Friday, November 15, 2019, Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. (MCVRC), on behalf of a crime victim who was seriously injured in a hit and run accident by a drunk driver, requested and received from the Federal District Court in Maryland a $22,201 restitution award ordered to be paid at the rate of $300 per month from a defendant represented by the public defender, even though she earns more than $23 per hour and has more than $163,000 in equity in the home she purchased during the litigation of this case.
The District Court had previously denied restitution to the crime victim, but MCVRC attorney Victor Stone appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. After a hearing before the appellate court in Richmond, Virginia, a three-judge appellate panel vacated the earlier lower court ruling in a published an opinion and remanded the case back for this latest restitution determination by the District Court.
MCVRC is a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that the rights of victims of crime are fully implemented and that crime victims are treated with dignity and compassion. MCVRC (www.mdcrimevictims.org/help) offers free legal representation, grief counseling, and other assistance. MCVRC can be reached, toll free, at 1-877-VICTIM-1.
by MCVRC Webmaster | Sep 18, 2019 | Press Releases
The Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. (MCVRC) is concerned that the Prince George’s State’s Attorney’s new policy prohibiting prosecutors from recommending cash bail for defendants in any case could result in policies that threaten the safety of victims of crime.
MCVRC has long considered the prosecutor’s recommendations as helpful in striking a balance between every person’s right to be considered innocent and the victim’s right to expect safety and protection from a charged criminal defendant.
The new policy erodes public confidence that the Assistant State’s Attorneys in previous administrations properly distinguished between defendants who were a threat to society and those who posed no threat to society, or a particular victim. Moreover, we fear that the new policy may force judges to make decisions about bail without the considered contribution of prosecutors, including their knowledge about publicly undisclosed ongoing related investigations or any undisclosed cooperators who would be put in danger. The results of this one-size-fits-all policy could also lead to draconian results wherein defendants are incarcerated who would otherwise be released on money bail, or defendants are released who have many prior convictions, no fixed address, no job, or community ties and would otherwise be incarcerated to ensure attendance at trial. Neither of these results furthers the victim’s demand for justice. By requiring Prosecutor’s to essentially absent themselves from bail determinations, this policy inflexibly places a straight-jacket on the appropriate individualized exercise of prosecutorial discretion and undermines the very credibility of the judicial system.
MCVRC’s more than 35 years of advocating for the protection of victims and victim’s rights in Maryland counsels that we treat this new “No Cash Bail Policy” with caution. Fortunately, as community partners with the State’s Attorney Office, we look forward to working with the State’s Attorney Office to develop a more nuanced implementation of a policy that effectively considers the interests of all Marylanders, including victims of crime.
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