Author's note: Senate Bill 682 was signed by the Governor on September 4, 2019, and was chaptered as S.L. 2019-216. Last week, the General Assembly ratified Senate Bill 682, which implements the 2018 constitutional amendment that expanded the rights of crime victims. The bill, ratified one day before the constitutional amendment took effect, awaits the Governor’s signature. This post briefly reviews the history of state-law protections for crime victims and the provisions of the 2018 amendment before discussing some of the more significant aspects of SB 682. Historical protections for victims of crime. The General Assembly appropriated funds in 1986 to provide for a victim and witness assistant in each of the then 35 district attorney offices in North Carolina. Stevens H. Clarke, Robert L. Farb, & Benjamin B. Sendor, Criminal Justice and Corrections, North Carolina Legislation 1986, 25 (Joseph S. Ferrell ed., 1986). Before that time, a smaller number of offices had such employees, who were then called witness assistant coordinators. Id. Along with the appropriation came the enactment of Article 45 of Chapter 15A, which required “to the extent reasonable possible and subject to available resources,” the district attorney and others share information with, return property to, and provide designated services to certain crime victims. Victim and witness assistants were charged with coordinating efforts within the law-enforcement and judicial systems to assure that these rights were afforded. In 1996, voters approved a constitutional amendment setting forth “basic rights” for victims of crimes, including the right to be informed of [...]
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