Case 9:08-cv-80736-KAM Document 90-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/19/2011 Page 1 of 16 THE AVAILABILITY OF CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS UNDER THE CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS ACT OF 2004 The rights provided by the Crime Victims' Rights Act are guaranteed from the time that criminal proceedings are initiated (by complaint, information, or indictment) and cease to be available if all charges are dismissed either voluntarily or on the merits (or if the Government declines to bring formal charges after the filing of a complaint). December 17, 2010 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ACTING DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL The Crime Victims' Rights Act ("CVRA"), enacted as section 102 of the Justice for All Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-405, 118 Stat. 2260, 2261-64 (codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (2006 & Supp. III 2009)), guarantees victims of federal (and District of Columbia) crimes eight rights. See 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a). In connection with an effort to update the Attorney General's Guidelines for Victims and Witness Assistance, you have asked whether some or all of these rights must be made available to crime victims before the United States files charges and whether the rights no longer apply once the relevant charges are declined, dropped, or dismissed. In 2005, this Office conducted a preliminary review of these questions and concluded that a person's status as a qualifying crime victim under the Act could reasonably be understood to commence upon the filing of a criminal complaint, and could reasonably be understood to cease if the relevant charges are declined, dropped, or dismissed. See E-mail for Rachel Brand et al., Office of Legal Policy, from Luke Sobota, Office of Legal Counsel (Apr. 1, 2005). That informal guidance did not foreclose the possibility that other readings of the CVRA might also be reasonable. We observed, however, that the statutory definition of "crime victim," the nature of the rights provided under the Act, and the CVRA's legislative history all suggested