The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA)
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act, enacted in 2004, guarantees federal crime victims specific rights including:
- The right to be reasonably protected from the accused
- The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding
- The right to confer with the government’s attorney in the case
- The right to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim’s dignity
The Violation
In 2008, Acosta’s Southern District of Florida negotiated and signed the NPA with Epstein without ever notifying identified victims that negotiations were underway. Victims were not told:
- That federal charges were being contemplated
- That a plea deal was being negotiated
- That the deal would immunize co-conspirators
- That they could present victim impact statements
Victims only learned of the agreement after it was signed and finalized.
The Court Ruling
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra ruled in February 2019 that the government had violated the CVRA by failing to notify Epstein’s victims. This was a landmark rulingthe first time a federal court had found a major NPA invalid due to CVRA violations.
The Impact of the Ruling
The ruling did not automatically undo the NPA (Epstein was already under new federal charges by SDNY). But it formally established that the 2008 process was unlawful, vindicating what victims’ advocates had argued for over a decade.