Victim Rights & Marsy’s Law

Marsy's Law

On November 6, 2018, the citizens of Florida approved an amendment to the State Constitution which preserved a specific set of clear, enforceable rights and protections for crime victims. These rights are commonly known as Marsy’s Law for Florida. 

Rights of a Crime Victim:

On January 8, 2019, with the enactment of Revision 1 of Article 1, Section 16, of the Florida Constitution, Section 960.001, Florida Statutes, provides legal rights established for crime victims as follow:

• You have the right to due process and to be treated with fairness and respect for your dignity.
• You have the right to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse.
• You have the right within the judicial process, to be reasonably protected from the accused and any person acting on behalf of the accused.
• You have the right to have your safety and welfare and that of your family considered when bail and conditions of pretrial release are set.
• You have the right to prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family, or which could disclose confidential or privileged information of the victim.
• You have the right to request reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of all public proceedings involving the criminal conduct, including, but not limited to, trial, plea, sentencing, or adjudication.
• You have the right to request the opportunity to be present at all public proceedings involving the criminal conduct, including, but not limited to, trial, plea, sentencing, or adjudication, even if you will be a witness at the proceeding, notwithstanding any rule to the contrary.
• You have the right to request the opportunity to be heard in any public proceeding involving pretrial or other release from any form of legal constraint, plea, sentencing, adjudication, or parole, and any proceeding during which a right of the victim is implicated.
• You have the right to request to confer with the prosecuting attorney concerning any plea agreements, participation in pretrial diversion programs, release, restitution, sentencing, or any other disposition of the case.
• You have the right to provide information regarding the impact of the offender's conduct on you and your family to the individual responsible for conducting any presentence investigation or compiling any presentence investigation report, and to have any such information considered in any sentencing recommendations submitted to the court.
• You have the right to request a copy of any presentence report, and any other report or record relevant to the exercise your victimls rights, except for confidential or exemptions by law.
• You have the right to request to be informed of the conviction, sentence, adjudication, place and time of incarceration, or other disposition of the convicted offender, any scheduled release date of the offender, and the release of or the escape of the offender from custody.
• You have the right to the prompt return of your property when no longer needed as evidence in the case.
• You have the right to full and timely restitution in every case and from each convicted offender for all losses suffered, both directly and indirectly, by you as a result of the criminal conduct.
• You have the right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay, and to a prompt and final conclusion of the case and any related post-judgment proceedings.

The Victim Witness Program wants to ensure that you are aware of these rights and will assist you along the way. You have a right to be informed of the court process and have input into the outcome of the case, through a Victim Impact Statement. We can assist you with this form.