Rights of Crime Victims Pre-Charging
Saturday, May 31 at 10:15 am
Steve Twist, J.D., serves as Vice President and General Counsel for the Services Group of America. He volunteers as General Counsel for the National Victims Constitutional Amendment Project, and is founder and current President of Arizona Voice for Crime Victims. Mr. Twist teaches victims' rights law at the Arizona State University College of Law and he is the founder of a crime victims’ legal clinic at the law school that provides free legal representation to crime victims seeking to protect their legal rights. Mr. Twist has worked in the field of victims’ rights since 1975. He is the former Chief Assistant Attorney General of the State of Arizona. He is the principal author of the Arizona constitutional amendment for victims’ rights and the Arizona Victims’ Rights Implementation Act. In addition, he is a principal author of the federal Crime victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771. He has worked across the country helping state legislatures and local groups consider and pass victims’ rights amendments and implementing statutes. Mr. Twist has testified extensively in Congress on the need for a federal Crime Victims’ Rights Amendment. He has extensive experience litigating the enforcement of victims’ rights. With his colleagues Prof. Doug Beloof and Federal District Court Judge Paul Cassell, he is co-author of the second edition, Victims in Criminal Procedure, published by Carolina Academic Press. He is a 2003 recipient of the President’s National Crime Victims’ Service Award. Mr. Twist has a B.A. degree and a J.D. degree from ASU.
