Sec. 3. Department of Justice officials responsible for ensuring victims' rights
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Chapter 237 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: There is established within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General of the Department of Justice, the Office of the National Coordinator for Victims’ Rights, headed by the National Coordinator for Victims’ Rights (in this section referred to as the National Coordinator ), for the purpose of reviewing determinations of the Ombudsman, monitoring and appearing in court proceedings as Special Victim’s Advocate to protect the rights of victims, and developing standards for treatment of victims.
The National Coordinator shall have the following duties: Not less than once every 2 years, the National Coordinator, in consultation with the Ombudsman, the Director of the Office of Violence Against Women, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the litigating components of the Department of Justice, and victims’ rights and services groups, shall review and, if necessary, recommend the revision of the rules issued by the Attorney General under section 3774. The National Coordinator may appear before the court and act as a Special Victims' Advocate, either upon receiving a request from the Ombudsman pursuant to section 3773(b)(5), upon a request from a prosecutor, or in the discretion of the National Coordinator based on the circumstances.
The National Coordinator shall coordinate a mandatory course of training on the treatment of crime victims for each officer or employee of the Department of Justice who interacts with crime victims as a part of their official duties. The National Coordinator may apply disciplinary sanctions, including suspension or termination from employment and delay of promotion on the General Schedule or other relevant pay schedule, for officers and employees of the Department of Justice who fail to comply with section 3771(a) or section 503 of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 ( 34 U.S.C. 20141 ).
The National Coordinator shall develop best practices for protecting the rights of crime victims, which may exceed the minimum legal requirements set forth in this chapter and shall be relevant to determining whether an officer or employee of the Department of Justice has made best efforts to ensure that crime victims are notified of, and accorded, the rights described in section 3771(a) or section 503 of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 ( 34 U.S.C. 20141 ). The National Coordinator may, upon a final determination that an officer or employee of the Department of Justice intentionally violated the rights of a victim, award the victim not more than $15,000, to be paid out of the fund described in section 1304 of title 31.
The award payable under this subsection shall be in addition to any other restitution or recovery to which the crime victim is entitled as a result of the crime. There is established within the Executive Office for United States Attorneys of the Department of Justice, the Office of Crime Victims' Rights, headed by the Crime Victims’ Rights Ombudsman (in this section referred to as the Ombudsman ), for the purposes of— receiving, coordinating investigations of, and adjudicating complaints relating to a violation of the rights of a crime victim; and serving as a central resource for information and contact in the Department of Justice for crime victims.
The Ombudsman shall have the following duties: The Ombudsman shall develop a streamlined system for submitting complaints to the Ombudsman electronically and by mail. The Ombudsman shall appoint a point of contact for each office of the Department of Justice and mandate annual training for each point of contact on the requirements and expectations of Department of Justice officers and employees with respect to the rights of crime victims. The Ombudsman shall establish, in coordination with the National Coordinator, a process for the Ombudsman— to directly receive any complaint from crime victims for violations of their rights under section 3771(a) or section 503 of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 ( 34 U.S.C. 20141 ) by an officer or employee of the Department of Justice and to refer the complaint to the point of contact at each relevant office for investigation, initial findings, and recommendations; in the case that the point of contact has a conflict of interest, to refer the complaint to another officer in a relevant office to address the complaint, who shall be designated as the point of contact with respect to that complaint; to provide the complainant an opportunity to be heard by the point of contact and respond to initial findings of the point of the contact; to review the findings and recommendations of the point of contact; and to, not later than 90 days after receipt of a complaint— make a final determination based on the findings and recommendations of the point of contact on whether there was any violation of the rights of the crime victim; and in the case that there is a violation, identify each officer or employee responsible for the violation, the severity of the violation, and any relief or disciplinary sanction to be imposed.
The Ombudsman shall report to the complainant the determinations made under paragraph (3), after which the complainant shall have an opportunity to appeal to the National Coordinator, except in a case in which the complaint concerns the conduct of the National Coordinator, in which case the appeal shall be to the Attorney General or a designee of the Attorney General. Whether or not there is an appeal, the Ombudsman shall refer the determinations to the National Coordinator for final review and approval and application of any disciplinary sanctions or award.
The Ombudsman shall develop a process by which victims may submit a request for the National Coordinator to appear before the court and act as a Special Victims' Advocate. The Ombudsman shall refer to the National Coordinator any request received pursuant to the process developed under subparagraph (A). A victim of a crime may submit a complaint under this subsection ending on the date that is 1 year after the victim learns of a violation of their rights under section 3771(a) or section 503 of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 ( 34 U.S.C. 20141 ) by an officer or employee of the Department of Justice or 2 years after the actual violation, whichever is later, except that the National Coordinator may extend such date if the National Coordinator determines an extension to be necessary to accord the victim of a crime their rights upon a showing of good cause.
The Attorney General shall issue such rules as may be necessary to carry out this chapter. The Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on— significant steps taken to improve the Department's best efforts to accord crime victims their rights; the number of complaints filed with the Ombudsman and the outcome of those complaints (including any disciplinary action); and a list of all cases in which a court has determined that there has been a failure to accord crime victims their rights and the best efforts made by officers and employees of the Department of Justice in each case.
The report described in paragraph
(1)shall be submitted not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section and— annually thereafter for a period of 2 years; and biannually after the end of the period described in subparagraph (A). . The table of sections for chapter 237 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 3772. Office of the National Coordinator for Victims’ Rights. 3773. Office of Crime Victims' Rights. 3774. General provisions. . Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Judicial Center shall, in consultation with victims’ rights and services groups— create a guidebook for Federal judges and judicial employees explaining legal requirements regarding crime victims’ rights and best practices for affording those rights in judicial proceedings; and incorporate the concepts from the guidebook in the Federal Judicial Center’s judicial orientation training.
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Sec. 3
Department of Justice officials responsible for ensuring victims' rights
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