Defendant appealed from his conviction on charges of first degree sodomy and second degree sexual abuse, arguing that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that the child-victim—defendant’s step-daughter— had applied for a U visa.   More >

Defendant, convicted of criminal copyright infringement and mail fraud for the sale of pirated copies of outdated software, appealed the district court’s order of almost $750,000 in restitution to the corporate victim under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3663A.  Defendant argued that the district court abused its discretion when it issued the award based on evidence of defendant’s gain from the unlawful sales as opposed to the victim’s actual loss as a result of the pirated sales.More >

Defendants, separately convicted of various federal fraud charges arising out of a Ponzi scheme, appealed the district court’s order reopening their sentences and awarding about $17 million in restitution to the victims under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, more than six months after final judgments had been entered.  Defendants argued that the trial court lacked authority to issue the restitution orders.  The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed and held that the district court exceeded its authority.More >

Petitioner, a private investigator whose license was revoked by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), sought judicial review of the revocation order, which was based in part on the determination that petitioner—while working for private criminal defense attorneys—interviewed crime victims without disclosing his true identity and role and without informing the victims of their right to refuse defense interviews.More >

Defendant created the fictitious McPherson Property Group and induced the victim-investor into purchasing worthless shares of the company.  Additionally, defendant opened bank and merchant accounts under 56 different names and received payment from numerous entities for work never performed.  The federal government eventually charged defendant with two counts of bank fraud, one count of uttering a forged and counterfeit security, and one count of fraud and related activity in connection with access devices.  The government later moved to dismiss the forged security charge, and defendant ultimately pled guilty to the bank fraud and fraud with access devices charges.  The district court ordered defendant to pay restitution to multiple victims, including the victim-investor.More >

Defendant pled guilty to aggravated assault, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, and sexual exploitation of a child, arising out of his sexual assault of a 10-year-old child-victim.  Defendant appealed the trial court’s order that he pay restitution for the costs of relocating the child-victim’s family to Hawaii that were not covered by state victims’ compensation program funds.More >

Defendant was convicted of two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor.  During defendant’s retrial in 2006, the trial court partially closed the courtroom during the testimony of the child-victim, in accordance with a statutory provision allowing for partial closure upon the request of any testifying victim of a sex offense.  Defendant appealed, arguing that the statutory closure provision conflicted with the requirements established by the Supreme Court in Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39 (1984).More >

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sat en banc to review a set of appeals arising out of two separate criminal judgments issued by different district courts within the circuit.  Both appeals involve restitution sought for the benefit of “Amy,” a child-victim whose images of child sexual abuse underlie defendants’ respective convictions for possessing such images.More >

A jury convicted corporate defendants CITGO Petroleum Corporation and CITGO Refining and Chemicals Company, L.P. (CITGO), of illegally operating two large tanks in a Texas refinery without first installing emission control devices as required by the Clean Air Act.  As a result of this crime, members of a residential community adjacent to the refinery were exposed to noxious chemical air emissions, including more than 300 community members for whom the government sought victim status under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. §3771 (CVRA).More >

A jury convicted corporate defendants CITGO Petroleum Corporation and CITGO Refining and Chemicals Company, L.P., of illegally operating two large tanks in a Texas refinery without first installing emission control devices as required by the Clean Air Act.  The tanks contained chemicals including benzene and other hazardous compounds.  As a result of this crime, members of a residential community adjacent to the refinery were exposed to noxious chemical air emissions for nine years.More >

Defendant was convicted of residential burglary and appealed, arguing, inter alia, that his right to a fair trial was violated when the court allowed Ellie, the prosecutor’s office’s facility dog, to sit next to the developmentally disabled adult victim during the victim’s testimony.More >

Defendant pled guilty to charges of mail fraud and money laundering in connection with his operation of a Ponzi-type scheme whereby investors were offered a guaranteed rate of return supposedly backed by profits earned through the purchase and sale of real estate and through high interest loans to homeowners facing foreclosure.  At the sentencing hearing, the district court was informed that defendant was not in a position to pay any restitution toward the victims’ losses and, as a result, the victims of his crime would never receive the $20 million in restitution to which they were entitled.More >

Defendant pled no contest to felony vandalism of the victim’s pickup truck, and the trial court ordered $2,812.94 in restitution—the amount an automotive body shop estimated it would cost to repair the extensive damage caused by defendant’s criminal conduct.  Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court should have capped restitution at $950, the price the victim originally paid for the used truck.More >

During the course of criminal proceedings, the government provided defendant with certain documents from which personal information—including names, addresses, and social security numbers—relating to the victims had been redacted.  Defendant filed a motion requesting that the court give him access to unredacted versions of materials in the government’s possession, alleging that the material provided “contains heavy redaction, which renders it essentially incomprehensible.”  Defendant also objected to the redaction of the names and addresses of his adult victims.  Defendant asserted that he requires the redacted information in order to “research the criminal and public records of the witnesses and victims,” but refused to provide additional information about his need for the information, citing that doing so would reveal defense strategy.More >

Defendant and co-defendant were convicted of criminal sexual misconduct for forcibly and simultaneously engaging in sexual activities with defendant’s ex-girlfriend.  Defendant filed a petition for habeas corpus, arguing that evidence was improperly excluded under Michigan’s rape shield laws.  Specifically, defendant argued that the trial court’s exclusion of evidence that the victim had previously engaged in group sex with defendant and a third party, and that the victim had solicited defendant’s father to engage in group sex with her and defendant, violated his constitutional right to be given a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense.More >

In a case of first impression, the Connecticut Supreme Court analyzed whether a victim could seek enforcement of the state’s constitutional victims’ rights by appealing an order issued in a criminal case.More >

The petitioner-victim initiated a mandamus proceeding, requesting that the Tenth Circuit direct the district court assigned to the habeas proceedings brought by the man convicted of murdering his mother to: 1) reconsider the petitioner-victim’s motion to dismiss defendant’s remaining habeas claims, in light of the petitioner-victim’s rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (CVRA); 2) afford petitioner-victim his CVRA rights not to be excluded from public court proceedings, to be reasonably heard, to proceedings free from unreasonable delay, and to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy in all future proceedings; and 3) avoid further delay and present a scheduling order to resolve the remaining habeas-related issues by the end of the year, if the district court’s reconsideration of the petitioner-victim’s motion does not result in a dismissal of defendant’s petition.More >

Defendant was charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, arising out of allegations made against him by his sixteen-year-old stepdaughter.  Before trial, the child-victim recanted and the prosecution provided notice of its intent to call as witnesses the child-victim’s guardian ad litem and the social worker assigned to the case.More >

Two victim-plaintiffs sued the federal government, claiming violations of their rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3771,  arising from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s handling of the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, the man who sexually abused plaintiffs while they were minors.More >

Defendant pled guilty to wire and mail fraud charges and received a sentence of 120 months of imprisonment, which was above the stipulated advisory guideline range.  On appeal, Defendant argued, inter alia, that the trial court erred in relying on the victim impact statements to influence its sentencing decision because the victims had not sworn to tell the truth.More >

Defendant was convicted of two counts of violating a stalking protective order.  The trial court denied defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal on the two counts.  On review, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed defendant’s convictions, reasoning that the state’s constitutional free speech provision required that the statute be narrowed to withstand an overbreadth challenge to require “an unequivocal threat of the sort that makes it objectively reasonable for the victim to believe that he or she is being threatened with imminent and serious physical harm,” and that the state had failed to meet its burden of proof on both counts.More >

Defendant was convicted of one count of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 and one count of continuous sexual abuse, relating to the sexual abuse of his step-daughter when she was between the ages of eight and 15.  The trial court sentenced defendant to 18 years in state prison and ordered him to pay restitution, which included $750,000 in noneconomic losses for psychological harm pursuant to a state statute allowing for such awards against those convicted of felony child sexual abuse.More >

Victim-petitioner filed for and was granted an emergency petition for a civil order of protection under the state’s Civil No Contact Order Act (“Act”), after she was raped by respondent following a night of heavy drinking.  The victim then sought a plenary no-contact order against respondent.More >

Defendant was charged with stalking the victim, his estranged wife.  Soon thereafter, the victim informed the prosecutor’s office that she was invoking her state constitutional rights to be notified in advance of sentencing and other critical stage hearings, and she timely completed and returned a form memorializing these requests.  The victim was told by the victim advocate that she did not need to be present for an upcoming pretrial appearance by defendant.  During this time, the prosecutor and defendant were engaging in plea negotiations, and at the scheduled pretrial hearing, defendant pleaded guilty to stalking the victim and was immediately sentenced to two years’ probation.  When the victim learned that defendant had pleaded guilty and been sentenced in her absence, she filed a claim asserting the violation of her state constitutional and statutory rights to be present and informed in advance of any critical stage proceedings, and to be heard at sentencing.More >

Defendant was charged with one count of leaving the scene of a fatal injury accident.  Shortly before trial, defendant filed a motion to preclude the state from referring to the child who was killed in the accident as a “victim.”  While the state did not oppose this request, the prosecutor raised concerns relating to the protection of the child’s parents’ rights as victims of the offense.More >

Four victim-plaintiffs sued Joseph Francis and companies owned or controlled by him for damages arising from defendants’ depiction of the plaintiffs, while minors, in sexually explicit situations in the “Girls Gone Wild” films.  Plaintiffs filed a motion to appear anonymously at trial.More >