What does Marsy’s Law for Florida provide victims and their families?
Amendment 6 (Marsy’s Law) aims to ensure victims and their families have true equality under the law by guaranteeing them standing in court. Protections that would help ensure equality include the rights:
- To be treated with dignity, respect, courtesy, sensitivity and fairness.
- To have standing in court.
- To privacy.
- To have information or records protected that could be used to locate or harass the victim or which could disclose confidential or privileged information about the victim.
- To proceedings free from unreasonable delay.
- To timely disposition of the case free from unreasonable delay.
- To be present at all proceedings involving the case.
- To reasonable protection from the accused throughout the justice process.
- To confer with the attorney for the government.
- To be informed by and provide input to the attorney for the government about any case disposition agreement including a plea agreement, deferred prosecution agreement or diversion agreement before a decision is made concerning such agreement.
- To be heard in any proceeding during which a right of the victim is implicated including release, plea, sentencing, disposition, parole, revocation, expungement or pardon.
- To have the authority with jurisdiction over the case provided with information pertaining to the economic, physical and psychological effect of the crime or juvenile act upon the victim and have the information considered by the authority with jurisdiction.
- To timely notice of any release, escape or death of the accused, if the accused is in custody or on supervision at the time of death.
- To full restitution and to be provided with assistance collecting restitution.
- To have any monies or property collected from any person who has been ordered to make restitution be first applied to the restitution owed to the victim before paying any amounts owed to the government.
- To compensation as provided by the law.
- To timely information about the outcome of the case.
- To timely notice about all rights in this section, or as provided by law, including the enforcement of these rights.