Victims Have the Right to...
To be made aware of the availability of crime victim compensation. The Victim Assistance Section can provide you with the application and assistance with these forms. For more information call 1-800-226-6667.
To crisis intervention services, support or bereavement counseling, social service referrals, and community based victim treatment programs.
To be advised of your role as a victim in the criminal or juvenile justice process.
To know the stages in the criminal justice process and how to obtain information.
To be informed, present and heard as a victim, or a next of kin of a homicide victim at all crucial stages of a criminal proceeding, to the extent that this right does not interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused.
To be informed, even if you are incarcerated, you have the right to be informed and submit written statements at all stages of the criminal and parole proceedings.
To a prompt and timely disposition of your case as long as it does not interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused.
To be notified within four hours of the release or transfer of a defendant from jail in any case of homicide, sexual offense, attempted murder or attempted sexual offense, stalking or domestic violence.
To waive your right of notification of release. You may also choose a designated contact for notification.
To be advised of protection available to you as a victim or as a witness. This includes information concerning protection from intimidation. If you are being threatened or intimidated, call your local law enforcement.
To be notified of any scheduling changes concerning your criminal justice proceedings. Contact the Witness Management Office at the County Courthouse at 239-252-2701.
To be present at and notified of all judicial proceedings concerning your case and receive advance notification relating to the arrest and release of the accused as well as the proceedings of the case.
To consult with the State Attorney’s Office if you are the victim of a felony involving physical or emotional injury. If the victim is a minor the guardian will be consulted.
To have your property promptly returned unless there is a compelling law enforcement reason for retaining it.
To request that the Victim Assistance Section or the State Attorney’s Office notify employers and creditors of any court proceedings that directly involve the victim.
To request and receive restitution for losses incurred as a result of a crime and submit documentation of your losses to the State Attorney’s Office. You have the right of enforcement of restitution under order F.S.S. 775.089(6) and 985.201.
To submit a written or oral impact statement.
To assistance. Victims and witnesses shall be provided with assistance when attending court. Transportation, parking, separate pretrial waiting areas and translator services.
To be notified if a defendant escapes a state correctional institution, county jail, juvenile detention facility or involuntary commitment facility.
To have a victim advocate present during any depositions.
To have information such as home or employment telephone number, address or personal assets relating to victims of certain crimes, including sexual battery, aggravated child abuse, aggravated stalking, harassment, aggravated battery or domestic violence kept confidential upon written request for a period of five years.
To review certain portions of the pre-sentencing investigation prior to sentencing. Upon request, the State Attorney’s Office shall permit the victim, victim’s parent, guardian or next of kin to review this information.
To have the State Attorney’s Office, with your consent, assert your rights as a victim as provided by law.
To request that the offender attend a different school if you or your sibling are zoned to attend the same school as the juvenile offender.
To notification. The victim, or the victim’s parent or guardian, lawful representative, or next of kin have the right to be notified if the inmate has been approved for work release. To have the courtroom cleared of certain persons while they are testifying if they are the victim of a sexual offense as provided in FSS 918.16.
To be informed of the Address Confidentiality Program administered through the Attorney General’s Office if you are a victim of domestic violence. To HIV and hepatitis testing. The right of a victim or the victim’s legal guardian, or the parent or legal guardian of a victim, if the victim is a minor, to request that a person who is charged with any offense enumerated in section 775.0877 (1)(a)-(n), Florida Statutes, that involves the transmission of body fluids from one person to another, undergo hepatitis and HIV testing. In sex offenses and under certain circumstances the accused can undergo HIV testing regardless of whether the offense involves the transmission of bodily fluids These certain circumstances include: cases involving a victim under 18-years-old or a victim who is disabled or elderly. You have the right to the test results within two weeks after the court receives them.
To not be excluded from any portion of the hearing, trial or proceedings based solely on the fact that you or the victim’s next of kin is subpoenaed to testify unless the court finds that person’s presence is prejudicial.
To information, however information gained by a victim regarding any case handled in juvenile court must not be revealed to any outside party, except as is reasonably necessary in pursuit of legal remedies.
To request the presence of a victim advocate during the forensic medical examination. An advocate from a certified rape crisis center shall be permitted to attend any forensic medical examination.
To forego a polygraph. No law enforcement officer, prosecuting attorney or government official shall ask or require a victim of a sexual offense to submit to a polygraph examination or other truth telling device as a condition of the investigation.
Florida Statute 960.001 guarantees that crime Florida Statute 960.001 guarantees that crime victims are entitled to the right to be informed, victims are entitled to the right to be informed, as long as it does not interfere with the s long as it does not interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused.
As a victim of a crime, you may hear terms that are unfamiliar to you. The following glossary will explain those legal terms you may hear throughout your court process.
