When Victims' and Defendants' Rights Collide in Court, Who Wins?

While I was finishing up my post last Wednesday on Senate Bill 682 (the bill implementing the 2018 constitutional amendments expanding victims’ rights), the Governor was signing that bill into law. In the week since S.L. 2019-216 was chaptered, I’ve fielded a couple of questions about the responsibilities for notifying victims of court hearings and the interplay between victims’ state constitutional rights and defendants’ rights under the state and federal constitutions. This post sets forth my (admittedly preliminary) thoughts on those matters. Informing the victim. The state constitution and the Crime Victim’s Rights Act (CVRA) afford the victim of a crime or an act of delinquency that is an offense against the person or a felony property crime the right to be present and reasonably heard at proceedings before a judge in open court that involve a defendant’s plea, conviction, adjudication, sentencing, or release (among other rights). Duties of law enforcement agencies. Within 72 hours of identifying a victim, the investigating law enforcement agency must inform a victim of his or her rights using a form created by the Conference of District Attorneys. G.S. 15A-831(a). The victim must indicate whether he or she wishes to receive additional notice from the law enforcement agency on the status of the accused during the pretrial process. G.S. 15A-831(d). If the victim desires further notices, the victim must return the form to the investigating law enforcement agency within 10 business days of its receipt. Id. When the law enforcement agency receives the returned form, it [...]