State’s Top Court Ruling Hailed as Big Win for Victims’ Rights

By Colleen O'Dea (courtesy of NJ Spotlight)

In what one advocate called the most important victims’ rights ruling in New Jersey history, the state Supreme Court on Monday ordered that a criminal defendant does not have an absolute right to skip his sentencing hearing.

But the court agreed with the victim in this case – the mother of a murdered Sussex County woman – who argued as a friend of the court that her right to deliver an impact statement is “perhaps the single most important right” under the Crime Victims Bill of rights and it “will be meaningless” if the defendant can choose not to attend.

While crime victims have both legal and constitutional protection in the state, including the right to tell the court how the crime affected them, there is no statutory requirement that the person who committed the crime has to appear in court to listen to the victim’s impact statement.

“There can be little doubt that from the standpoint of the victims, who are to be treated with fairness, compassion, respect, and dignity, their statements at sentencing will carry more meaning if they are heard not only by the judge but the defendant as well,” wrote Chief Justice Stuart Rabner for a unanimous court.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

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