[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9884-9885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    VICTIMS SHOULD BE SEEN AND HEARD

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, to support National Crime Victims Week, the 
Washington Post printed an opinion piece submitted by a criminal 
defense lawyer that belittled victims of crime, implying that victims 
are what is wrong with the criminal justice system and our society.
  It seems the op-ed writer does not believe the criminal justice 
system should pay any attention to victims. To him, crime victims 
should not be seen and not heard. However, the same Constitution that 
protects defendants also protects victims of crime.
  Justice is viewed as a scale, a balance. As a former judge, I always 
balanced the rights of defendants with the rights of society to be safe 
and the rights of crime victims. A court of law is to seek justice, 
justice for defendants and justice for victims.
  Sometimes defendants don't want justice, especially the guilty ones. 
They think it's Burger King, where they can have it their way. But 
justice

[[Page 9885]]

is not having it your way. It's doing the right thing for the right 
reason. The right thing is for victims to be heard and present in our 
courts of law, and then let the courts weigh the rights of the 
defendants and victims to achieve justice so that we can have liberty 
and justice for all.
  And that's just the way it is.

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