NCJ Number
89088
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1983) Pages: 27-31
Date Published
1983
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Because prosecutors can have a direct impact on all the institutions and agencies handling sexual assault cases, they should use their offices to improve the plight of the rape victim and ensure that victims' rights are identified and implemented.
Abstract
Prosecutors can influence public policy on sexual assault cases both inside and outside their offices. Outside the office, the prosecutor can have a direct impact in lobbying, primarily at the State level, for new legislation on issues ranging from admissibility of evidence of a victim's past sexual history (rape shield law) to mandatory minimum prison sentences for repeat offenders. Other external policy issues that can be influenced by prosecutors include dealing with members of the press who publish rape victims' names and addresses; coordinating a sexual assault coalition in the local community composed of the treating hospitals, police department, rape crisis center, and victim counseling center; and supporting in various ways the right to the existence and financial viability of the rape crisis center. Regarding internal office policies, the prosecutor should develop clearly defined standards for negotiating guilty pleas, nolle prossing (withdrawing prosecution) cases, and administering polygraph tests to defendants or victims. There should also be a regularly scheduled series of training sessions for the staff that covers the legal, medical, and psychological issues in trying a rape case. (Author abstract modified)