OPINION: Victims' rights in Alaska

Being a victim of a crime is not like what you see on television. From beginning to end, it is a very traumatizing experience. On TV shows like “Law & Order: SVU,” a felony criminal case gets wrapped up in a bow 45 minutes after Sgt. Fin Tutuola catches the criminal and assistant district attorney Dominick Carisi prosecutes them. However, in real life, the investigation and prosecution of a serious felony more often than not takes several years. Meanwhile, victims of crimes — who did not ask nor want the crimes to be committed against them, and most of whom have never dealt with the justice system before — are left to fend for themselves in trying to navigate and understand the criminal justice process. Cases can stretch out for years, which revictimizes crime victims as their offenders delay accountability. Courts and others prioritize defendants’ rights, while the crime victim is often treated and made to feel like an afterthought.

Fortunately, as we nationally recognize Crime Victims’ Rights Week this week, in Alaska, crime victims for the past 40 years have had many statutory victims’ rights, as well as constitutional rights established by 86% of initiative voters in 1994. This makes Alaska, the second youngest state in the nation, among the leading states in this area of criminal law.

Nevertheless, what good are legal rights if they cannot be effectively advocated for in the justice system? Recognizing that dilemma, in 2001 the 22nd Alaska Legislature enacted Senate Bill 105, which created the Office of Victims’ Rights (OVR). The primary bill sponsor, then-Senate President Rick Halford, noted the importance of the bill because “it is difficult for the victim of a violent crime to wade through our judicial system … many feel victimized twice, first by the criminal, and then by the system. So, this office (OVR) can help ensure that victims’ rights are protected.”

What, then, is OVR, and what do we do? The main role of OVR is to protect and advance the rights of crime victims who individually request such assistance. Victims who qualify for OVR services can be assisted from the initial investigation through sentencing and even parole or probation hearings. Accordingly, a victim can have an OVR attorney assist them in any or all parts of those proceedings. As a result, victims are not left to navigate this complex process on their own, but instead can have skilled and experienced counsel to help that victim seek justice.

For example, an OVR attorney can help a crime victim confer with the prosecution regarding proposed plea offers; recover their personal property held by law enforcement; fight to prevent disclosure of highly private mental health, medical, or other personal records to their offender; assist with victim impact statements; articulate victim objections to bail changes; and advocate for the victim’s constitutional right of “timely disposition,” i.e., to try to bring otherwise years-long cases to a full and appropriate resolution as soon as possible. Victims can then close that highly traumatic chapter of their lives and move forward.

Due to the foresight and wisdom of Alaskans and legislative leaders, Alaska crime victims have had clear, identified constitutional and statutory rights in the criminal justice process for the past 40 years. Additionally, for more than 20 years, OVR has been steadfast in its continued and ongoing advocacy on behalf of crime victims who have requested its assistance as to their own particular victim rights concerns. Therefore, as we nationally recognize Crime Victims’ Rights Week, we also want Alaska to be similarly recognized as a leading national force in advancing and advocating crime victims’ rights – and that the long-established Alaska Office of Victims’ Rights is an integral part of that mission. Because, in the words of leading criminal justice professor George P. Fletcher, “A just legal system must stand by its victims. (And) by seeking to hold the guilty accountable, we do not abandon the innocent who suffer … as we seek justice not only for offenders, but for all of us.”

Linnea Deisher has worked at OVR since 2017 and has been its legal secretary since 2019. Michael Shaffer has been a victims’ rights attorney at OVR since October 2022.

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