Since victims' rights first became a national issue, advocates have made important gains, such as winning victims the right to speak during criminal proceedings; to receive compensation from their victimizers; and to learn the legal status and location of their assailants. But today, victims still have no federally protected right to take unpaid time off from work to attend court proceedings. As a result, many victims -- particularly people who are already struggling in low-paying, low-skilled jobs -- are unable to help ensure that criminals are punished and others are protected from becoming new victims.
After years of fruitless efforts to enact a constitutional amendment enshrining victims rights, Congress took a big step in 2005 by Enacting the Crime Victims' Act, cosponsored by senators Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Kyl (R-Ariz.), which guaranteed the right to a day in court and respectful treatment in the federal criminal justice system.
But since then, most of the real action on victims' rights has occurred at the state level. An unpaid-leave law was enacted in both Arizona, with then-Attorney General (now Governor) Janet Napolitano taking the lead, and in Colorado, where House Speaker Andrew Romanoff sponsored the legislation.
Based on the same principle as the Family and Medical Leave Act, these laws work very much like the 1993 Clinton administration initiative that guaranteed unpaid leave for Americans to attend doctor's appointments for themselves or their families, or to care for sick family members. Although some business leaders initially charged that the FMLA measure would seriously damage the economy, subsequent economic growth and individual experiences undermine any argument that extending similar protections to victims would damage a business's long-term profitability. There is no reason to believe that mandated leave for crime victims would be any more damaging to employers interests.
Other states have begun to pass similar measures, including California, Kansas, Missouri, and Oregon. As of this writing, the Michigan legislature is considering such a proposal as well. All of this activity at the state level has created an impetus for a federal unpaid-leave policy. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has introduced the Crime Victims Employment Leave Act, which would permit leave for crime victims to attend court proceedings under the FMLA.
The victims' rights movement reflects a core New Democrat value: namely, the belief that the reduction of crime represents a vital enhancement of human liberty. To strengthen this value, policymakers should replicate these successful models and give victims in their states the right to unpaid work leave that victims now have in Arizona and Colorado.
Colorado House Bill 02-1051, 2002
www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/olls/sl2002a/sl.114.htm
Arizona criminal code statute 13-4439
www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/04439.htm
National Center for Victims of Crimes
www.ncvc.org
National Organization for Victim Assistance
www.try-nova.org
National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Passage Resource List
www.nvcap.org/reslist.htm
Dan Levey
Governor's Advisor on Victims Rights
State of Arizona Governor's Office
1700 W. Washington St
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 542-4331
http://www.governor.state.az.us/
Democratic Leadership Council
Progressive Policy Institute
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-0001
(202) 544-5014 (fax)
www.dlc.org
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