6000 Heritage Trail
Clayton, CA 94517
925-673-7350
“Marsy’s Rights”
To provide victims with rights to justice and due process.
On November 4, 2008, the People of the State of California
approved Proposition 9, the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008:
Marsy’s Law. This measure amended the California Constitution
to provide additional rights to victims. This brochure contains
specific sections of the Victims’ Bill of rights and resources.
Crime victims may obtain additional information
regarding Marsy’s Law and local Victim Witness Assistance
Center information by contacting the Attorney General’s
Victim Services Unit at 1-877-433-9069.
A ‘victim’ is defined under the California Constitution as “a
person who suffers direct or threatened physical, psychological,
or financial harm as a result of the commission or attempted
commission of a crime or delinquent act. The term
‘victim’ also includes the person’s spouse, parents, children,
siblings, or guardian, and includes a lawful representative of a
crime victim who is deceased, a minor, or physically or psychologically
incapacitated. The term ‘victim’ does not include
a person in custody for an offense, the accused, or a person
whom the court finds would not act in the best interests of a
minor victim.” (Cal. Const., art. I, 28(e).
The Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008
In order to preserve and protect a victim’s rights to
justice and due process, a victim shall be entitled
to the following rights:
1. To be treated with fairness and respect for his
or her privacy and dignity, and to be free from
intimidation, harassment, and abuse throughout
the criminal or juvenile justice process.
2. To be reasonably protected from the defendant
and persons acting on behalf of the defendant.
3. To have the safety of the victim and the victim’s
family considered in fixing the amount of
bail and release conditions for the defendant.
4. To prevent the disclosure of confidential information
or records to the defendant, the defendant’s
attorney, or any other person acting on
behalf of the defendant, which could be used
to locate or harass the victim or the victim’s family or which disclose confidential communications
made in the course of medical or counseling
treatment, or which are otherwise privileged
or confidential by law.
5. To refuse an interview, deposition, or discovery
request by the defendant, the defendant’s attorney, or any other person acting on behalf of
the defendant, and to set reasonable conditions
on the conduct of any such interview to
which the victim consents.
6. To reasonable notice of and to reasonably confer
with the prosecuting agency, upon request,
regarding the arrest of the defendant if known
by the prosecutor, the charges filed, the determination
whether to extradite the defendant,
and, upon request, to be notified of and informed
before any pretrial disposition of the
case.
7. To reasonable notice of all public proceedings,
including delinquency proceedings, upon request
, at which the defendant and the prosecutor
are entitled to be present and of all parole
or other post-conviction release proceedings,
and to be present at all such proceedings.
8. To be heard, upon request, at any proceeding,
including any delinquency proceeding, involving
a post-arrest release decision, plea, sentencing, post-conviction release decision, or
any proceeding in which a right of the victim is
at issue.
9. To a speedy trial and a prompt and final conclusion
of the case and any related postjudgment
proceedings.
10. To provide information to a probation department
official conducting a pre-sentence investigation
concerning the impact of the offense on
the victim and the victim’s family and any sentencing
recommendations before the sentencing
of the defendant.
11. To receive, upon request, the pre-sentence
report when available to the defendant, except
for those portions made confidential by law.