Prior to the emergence of a victims' movement in this country in the 1970s, crime victims had only limited formal rights and remedies in the modern American criminal justice system. With the active encouragement of those involved in the victims' movement and guidance supplied by a national Task Force on Victims of Crime, convened by President Reagan in 1982, federal and state authorization of crime victim rights and remedies has increased exponentially in the subsequent years. In fact, it has been estimated that there are currently tens of thousands of statutes that directly or indirectly affect crime victim rights and interests, as well as crime victim-related constitutional provisions in a majority of states. The authors describe the constitutional and legislative provisions addressing the principal crime victim rights and remedies and leading judicial opinions that have interpreted them. In addition to presenting the current state of the law in this area, the text describes the status of implementation of these rights and remedies, relevant empirical research, and a sampling of pertinent policy analysis. This comprehensive portrait of the past and current status of crime victim rights and remedies in this country will inform the continued evolution of law and practice in this area. The third edition of Crime Victim Rights and Remedies continues to address the evolution of key crime victim rights (e.g., the rights to notice of and to be present and heard at criminal justice proceedings) and includes the state constitutional amendments, legislation, court decisions, and empirical studies completed since the second edition in 2010. Of particular note is an expanded federal section regarding each right and remedy in the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act, enacted in 2004, and court decisions that have interpreted the Act in its initial decade of implementation. The third edition also adds a new chapter concerning crime victim rights and remedies in the United States armed services and internationally.

"Don't blame the victim" is a cornerstone maxim of Anglo-American jurisprudence, but should the law generally ignore a victim's behavior in determining a defendant's liability? Victims' Rights and Victims' Wrongs criticizes the current criminal law approach and outlines a more fair, coherent, and efficient set of rules to recognize that victims sometimes co-author their own losses or injuries. Evaluating a number of controversial cases involving euthanasia, sadomasochism, date rape, battered wives, and "innocent" aggressors, Vera Bergelson builds a theoretical foundation for reform. Her approach to comparative criminal liability takes into account the actions of both the perpetrator and the victim and offers a unitary explanation for consent, self-defense, and provocation. This innovative book supplies a practical and coherent mechanism for evaluating the impact of a victim's conduct on a perpetrator's liability in a variety of circumstances, including those that are now artificially excluded from comparative analysis.

This edition includes newly contributed and updated articles utilizing the latest research and studies in the areas of violence, abuse, and victims' rights from experts in the field. It has a stronger focus on emerging issues and policies in the field of victimology than other comparable texts. It utilizes the latest research and studies in the areas of violence, abuse, and victims, rights. It focuses on the emerging issues and policies in the fields of victim rights and crime prevention. New 3 Part organization with the more common victimizing crimes first, followed by responses to victimizations, and then newer issues and types of victimizations in Part 3. There is a new chapters on human trafficking and cyber crime. There is a major expansion of the human services response and school victimizations. It is updated throughout with new data and research.