School of Law
National Crime Victim Law Institute
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Each semester through the Crime Victim Litigation Clinic, the lawyers of NCVLI work with Lewis & Clark Law School students to advance victims’ rights. One case the students are working on this spring is:
State of Utah v Worthen, --- P.3d ----, 2008 WL 215275 (Utah Ct. App. 2008). In the trial court, defendant moved the court for an in camera review of the minor victim’s counseling records from three separate locations where she received counseling both prior to and after her report of sexual abuse. The state opposed the request, arguing that the records were privileged under Utah’s therapist/patient privilege, and that the defendant’s request was insufficient to pierce such privilege. The trial court ruled in defendant’s favor, holding that he had made a sufficiently specific showing to require a review to determine if evidence existed in the records that related to the victim’s motive to lie. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court, and the state petitioned for a writ of certiorari from the Utah Supreme Court. NCVLI will submit an amicus curiae brief in the Utah Supreme Court, arguing that the victim’s rights to privacy, protection, and fairness, coupled with the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of victims’ counseling records, requires reversal. Law School Students Ben Lull and Beth Jarvis are working on this case.
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Click here to hear a podcast from Professor Doug Beloof and Carol Schrader, Director of the Oregon Crime Victims' Rights Compliance Project, as they discuss the upcoming ballot measures in Oregon that would make crime victims' rights judicially enforceable. CASE UPDATES
Click here for updates to recent victims' rights cases. VICTIMS' RIGHTS NATIONWIDE
11/29/07 - Senate Passes Cybercrime Bill Aimed At Restitution
10/2/07 - State of Maryland v. Maouloud Baby
6/7/07 - Victims' Rights Measures Put On 2008 Ballot in Oregon
Click here to browse past news articles.
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