[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 211 (Monday, December 14, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1140-E1141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ARIZONA VOICE FOR CRIME VICTIMS (AVCV)

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DEBBIE LESKO

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 14, 2020

  Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, Arizona, a national leader in crime 
victims' rights, reached a milestone on November 26, 2020--30 years 
since the enactment of the Victims' Bill of Rights (VBR), as art. II 
Sec. 2.1, of the state constitution. The passage of the VBR was an 
immense achievement in the face of strong opposition. The movement was 
led by numerous crime victims, grassroots organizations, and 
prosecutors throughout the state. Prior to this achievement, there had 
been two unsuccessful attempts to get a victims' rights amendment 
referred by the Arizona Legislature. Strong opposition came from 
defense attorneys and, astonishingly, judicial officers.

[[Page E1141]]

  After two attempts to get on the ballot through legislative action, 
in 1990, the people of Arizona rallied to support a ballot initiative 
drafted by Steve Twist, then the Chief Assistant Attorney General for 
Arizona. Petitions were circulated and signed by thousands of Arizonans 
who saw and disapproved of the grave injustices in how victims were 
treated during the criminal justice process. The effort was truly 
grassroots. Led by the Victims Bill of Rights Task Force, victim 
advocates reached out across Arizona. On November 6, 1990, Arizonans 
voted overwhelmingly to add the new VBR to our constitution. In the 
year following, implementing statutes were drafted and passed in order 
to further define, preserve, and protect the constitutional victims' 
rights amendment.
  Beyond providing constitutional rights to victims on paper, Steve 
Twist and U.S. Senator Jon Kyl had a vision for providing victims a way 
to enforce their constitutional rights and assure that their voices 
would be heard during the criminal justice process. In 1996, the future 
of non-profit victim services was shaped when they founded Arizona 
Voice for Crime Victims (AVCV), the very first clinic of its kind to 
provide both legal and social services to crime victims at no cost. The 
first free legal and social services clinic started in 2001, in 
partnership with the Arizona State University (ASU) College of Law.
  Since its beginnings, with one lawyer and one social worker, AVCV has 
grown to be one of the most successful victims' rights advocacy 
organizations in the country and serves as a model for similar programs 
around the country. AVCV's attorneys, led by Chief Counsel Colleen 
Clase, represent victims of crime, without limitation on the type of 
crime, throughout Arizona's state superior courts, in city courts, 
justice courts, the federal district court, appellate courts up to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and in front of Arizona's Board of 
Executive Clemency. AVCV's social services staff provide victims the 
emotional support needed to get through the criminal justice process. 
For nearly 25 years, AVCV has contributed significantly to advancing 
the enforcement of victim's rights by seeking appellate remedies. AVCV 
has litigated victims' rights issues of first impression that have 
resulted in published opinions that define, implement, preserve and 
protect victim's constitutional and statutory rights.
  Just this year, AVCV secured an opinion from the Arizona Supreme 
Court that required the court to overrule their own precedent, three 
cases predating Arizona's VBR, and to consider another issue of first 
impression in order to honor and uphold the constitutional rights of 
crime victims. In this case, AVCV represents a child-victim who is the 
older sibling of a 6-year-old murder victim and a witness to the severe 
child abuse and neglect that led to his murder. Three of the four 
family members charged in connection with the murder entered into 
guilty pleas, negotiated by the prosecutors and criminal defendants, 
containing a cap on the restitution that may be ordered to the child-
victim. On behalf of the child-victim, AVCV objected to the restitution 
cap.
  On review, the Arizona Supreme Court agreed with AVCV and overruled 
three pre-VBR cases that required restitution caps in plea agreements, 
holding that restitution cannot be capped over the objection of the 
victim. Additionally, as a matter of first impression here in Arizona 
and across the country, the Arizona Supreme Court also held that 
counsel for a crime victim should be before the bar during proceedings 
in which victims' rights are at issue.
  AVCV continues to work toward changing the culture of the criminal 
justice system to be more inclusive for victims, both in Arizona and on 
the national level, through the filing of amicus briefs and through its 
work to modernize Arizona's court rules by fully integrating victims' 
rights into Arizona's Rules of Criminal Procedure--another task which 
has faced great opposition from the defense bar and certain judicial 
officers. AVCV's staff regularly provides training on victims' rights 
topics at national conferences including the National Crime Victim Law 
Conference, the annual National Organization for Victim Assistance 
Conference, and the annual Parents of Murdered Children National 
Conference.
  One of AVCV's most important partnerships has been with ASU's College 
of Law. This partnership is one that is essential to training future 
lawyers by giving law students an opportunity to work alongside AVCV's 
attorneys and social workers to assist and support crime victims as 
they navigate the criminal process.
  The work AVCV has done over the last 25 years has changed the lives 
of many crime victims who, without the free legal representation and 
social services they received, would have been left to navigate an 
arduous justice system on their own and without recourse when their 
constitutional rights were violated. AVCV has been able to provide 
thousands of victims with a sense of hope through understanding and 
asserting their constitutional rights for meaningful participation in 
our criminal justice system. AVCV has truly established the standard of 
``Justice for All--Even the Victim.''

                          ____________________