Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 104 | Issue 1 Article 2 Winter 2014 Crime Victims' Rights During Criminal Investigations? Applying the Crime Victims' Rights Act Before Criminal Charges Are Filed Paul G. Cassell Nathanael J. Mitchell Bradley J. Edwards Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons Recommended Citation Paul G. Cassell, Nathanael J. Mitchell, and Bradley J. Edwards, Crime Victims' Rights During Criminal Investigations? Applying the Crime Victims' Rights Act Before Criminal Charges Are Filed, 104 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 59 (). http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol104/iss1/2 This Criminal Law is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized administrator of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. 0091-4169/14/10401-0059 THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 104, No. 1 Copyright © 2014 by Northwestern University School of Law Printed in U.S.A. CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS DURING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS? APPLYING THE CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS ACT BEFORE CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE FILED PAUL G. CASSELL* NATHANAEL J. MITCHELL**& BRADLEY J. EDWARDS*** This Article addresses whether crime victims should have rights during criminal investigations, using the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) as the focal point for our discussion. This is a critical issue, as many criminal cases may never proceed to formal charging. If crime victims have no rights during criminal investigations, then many crime victims will never have any rights at all. The issue of whether crime victims have rights in the criminal justice process recently came to a head when the Justice Department released a memorandum contending that the CVRA does not extend crime victims any rights until prosecutors choose to file formal criminal cha