Why does is seem like defendents in crimes sometimes have more rights than the victim?

Question

When an adult admits to raping a fifteen year old girl in an oral statement given to police, why can it be tossed out the window by the State's Atty when his lawyer comes? It then takes two months to a year and a half for the evidence obtained in a rape kit to come back before the man can be charged. Where exactly are the rights of the victim upheld there?

Lisa - a rape kit is something the hospital ER uses to obtain evidence in a rape case to hand over to the police. It is very invasive procedure, especially for a fifteen year old girl, and all of the samples obtained, including oral and vaginal swabs, combings of hair from the head and pubic area, and clothing the woman was wearing, is sealed and given to the detective at the hospital.

Realist, this is my daughter.

Answer 1

This is a great question and it has nothing to do with bleeding heart liberals or any political bashing.

Unfortunately what happens usually when someone is arrested and then questioned by the police they are not read their rights on purpose. Because the un-written rule is whatever the accused says prior to being read their rights is considered a spontaneous comment. As soon as the accused ask for an attorney all questioning is suppose to stop. If it continues anything said after and before that point is inadmissable in court.
This is where coercion comes to play. The accused can say he was coerced into signing the confession. Which in many cases happens. Some police officers get anxious to solve the case. Most police officers have the best intentions of the victims in mind. But by not following the law and rules or knowing how to write a report they end up hurting the victim. Because now the accused can get off on technicalities caused by the investigation of the police. Does this make sense?

The victim can pursue a civil law suit against the accused also. A civil law suit is mostly for damages which means money for the victim. A criminal court is for punishment. Sometime you can collect damages while they are in prison or jail. For instance if the judge states the accused must pay restitution then any money he receives from family, friends or whatever while incarcerated will go to the victim.

As far as victim's rights. Well it is a lowsy program. There are victims rights groups out there. Ask the nearest probation office where they are so your friend can get some help. The victim's rights groups would be the bleeding heart liberals you are being told to stay away from.

I am truly sorry for the pain you and your daughter are going through. You probably here it all the time to get counseling. But how does counseling really help such a violation. I can only tell you how the system works. It is not the best system but it does work at times. Hopefully the DA will pursue this and put this guy behind bars.

I have an old friend from the service whose daughter was murdered at 18 yrs old. My son and her grew up together. This world has to be hell. That is all I have to say.

Answer 2

There's an appearance that the accused has more rights because the crime victim's rights have already been violated. All of a murder victim's rights have been totally eliminated. The issue here is that the state is required to prove the guilt of the person accused, beyond a reasonable doubt. Everyone agrees that a crime has been committed, but did the person accused do it? The issue is clouded by the fact that police and prosecutors have twisted facts and evidence in numerous cases in order to obtain convictions.

Answer 3

My heart agree with you but my head does not. Defendants should be given full protection of the law until he/she is proven guilty. There are many instances where defendants were physically abused by police to falsely confess. After a decade or so in jail, the same defendant, now a convict, was released after a DNA test proved him innocent.
I feel for the rape victim, but does it justify jailing someone for a crime that he/she didn't commit?
Obviously, the police didn't follow the procedure and didn't read the defendant his/her right.
There are two things that need to be fixed here. One is to make sure that police follow the proper procedure. The other thing to do is to speed up the forensic tests. Both could be achieved by writing to your congressman or congresswoman. Good luck!

Answer 4

i do not care if this replaced into an unlawful alien or not, that is sickening, and he or she must be punished as a sex criminal. If the mentality of the jurors are something like those who responded the question she will be able to not be found responsible. This replaced right into a baby no count number the position he got here from. the instructor desires to be locked up, or perhaps as she comes out be a registered sex provided for something else of her organic existence and by no potential coach or are available in contact with little ones again. women everybody is placing out to make the information by performing some despicable issues to childen. There have already been 3 contained in the information who were accused of an similar ingredient.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, in our justice system today. The criminal has all the rights, the victim not many at all.
Then when the Victim does go to court to testify against the slime that did this to her.
The defense attorney tries his best to make her look like a whore.
I have always held the view that really the victim has no rights.
Listen closely to how the case is read. It will be the state of Where ever vrs Joe Blow.
The victims name will not even be mentioned.

Answer 6

Actually the judge would be the one to toss it out. And it is this way to make sure that the accused is in fact guilty. I would also like to know what kind of snails your local PD has running their forensics lab? I am a college student from Ohio and I have a friend who is studying forensic science (you know csi type stuff). Anyway he is currently doing an internship at the Newark Police Department crime lab. According to him processing a rape kit should take hours or days not months. Anyway it is a sad state of affairs in our justice system.

Answer 7

Laws that are meant to be just and protecting the society are manipulated by lawyers. I think the whole judicial system has fallen victim to theoretical legal arguments that have the net effect of aiding the criminal rather than the victim. But people can do something about it by demanding that the legislators change "the rules of legal engagement" that will result in a more effective and efficient judicial system.

Answer 8

I say its all a load of crap. there is no justice left in this world, none whatsoever. Is it fair? no! Is it right. no! But legally, everyone, and i mean everyone has the same rights, or should. Its the police and district attorney's that screw everything up by bending the rules or not going by the book. They should have never questioned this guy to begin with without legal representation. They know this, they knew that it would become inadmissable. I don't know why they do the crap they do.

Answer 9

I'm sorry. Your State's Attorney and your local police are corrupt. There is money involved somehow. You have the right to seek help from higher authorities. A lab test in an active criminal case does not take a year to process.
Ask your local police how much money they got in exchange for their souls.

Answer 10

Good Question!!

The Judicial System of the U.S. is the most evenhanded system of justice in the world, even if it does seem to lean, at times, toward the "accused" a bit. This was done by DESIGN, not by "bleeding-heart liberals".

Our founding fathers had good foresight when they established our court system, which is why it has withstood the test of time thus far.

Our system is based on the old "ENGLISH BOOK OF COMMON LAW" which presumes one is INNOCENT until PROVEN GUILTY in a COURT of LAW BY a JURY OF HIS PEERS.

I think the drafters of our Constitution refined it a bit when they revisited the definition of the term "PEERS", which had a completely different meaning in England.

Our system, in it's slowness to come to judgement, is actually more effective in seeing that the right person is convicted of the charges brought forward, further it insures that that trial is conducted in a manner conducive to equality and fairness.

If you need more on this visit

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/presiden;_ylt=AmWrAbOdUaUeYN4BSiByWxhTt8wF