34 U.S.C. § 20141 — Services to victims

(a) Designation of responsible officials. The head of every federal department or agency that detects, investigates, or prosecutes crime must name, by name and job title, the officials responsible for identifying crime victims and providing the services in subsection (c) at each stage of a criminal case. (b) Identification of victims. As early as possible after a crime is detected — without interfering with the investigation — a responsible official must (1) identify the crime's victim or victims; (2) tell them they can request the services in subsection (c); and (3) give each victim the name, title, business address, and phone number of the official to contact for those services. (c) Description of services. (1) A responsible official must (A) tell a victim where to get emergency medical and social services; (B) tell a victim about any restitution or other relief they may be entitled to under this or any other law, and how to get it; (C) tell a victim about public and private counseling, treatment, and support programs; and (D) help a victim contact the people who provide the services and relief described in (A) through (C). (2) A responsible official must arrange reasonable protection for a victim from a suspected offender and anyone acting with or for that offender. (3) During the investigation and prosecution, a responsible official must give the victim the earliest possible notice of (A) the status of the investigation, as far as appropriate and as long as it will not interfere with the investigation; (B) a suspected offender's arrest; (C) charges filed against a suspected offender; (D) the scheduling of any court proceeding the victim must attend or is entitled to attend under section 10606(b)(4) of title 42; (E) the offender's or suspected offender's release or detention status; (F) a guilty plea, no-contest plea, or verdict; and (G) the sentence given, including the offender's parole eligibility date. (4) During court proceedings, a responsible official must ensure the victim gets a waiting area away from and out of sight and hearing of the defendant and defense witnesses. (5) After trial, a responsible official must give the victim the earliest possible notice of (A) any parole hearing for the offender; (B) the offender's escape, work release, furlough, or any other release from custody; and (C) the offender's death, if it happens in custody. (6) At all times, a responsible official must keep any victim's property held as evidence in good condition and return it as soon as it is no longer needed. (7) The Attorney General, or the head of another agency investigating a sexual assault, must pay — directly or by reimbursing the victim — for a physical exam the investigator finds necessary or useful as evidence. The Attorney General must also pay for up to two anonymous, confidential tests during the 12 months after the assault for sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, and syphilis) where transmission is a risk, plus a counseling session by a medical professional about the accuracy of those tests and the transmission risk from the assault. A victim may waive the anonymity and confidentiality of these tests. (8) A responsible official must give the victim general information about the corrections process, including work release, furlough, probation, and eligibility for each. (d) No cause of action or defense. This section does not create a right to sue, or a legal defense, based on a responsible official's failure to give the information required by subsection (b) or (c). (e) Definitions. (1) 'Responsible official' means a person named under subsection (a) to do that job. (2) 'Victim' means a person who suffered direct physical, emotional, or financial harm from a crime, including (A) an authorized representative, if the victim is an institution; and (B) if the victim is under 18, incompetent, incapacitated, or dead, one of the following, in this order of preference: (i) a spouse; (ii) a legal guardian; (iii) a parent; (iv) a child; (v) a sibling; (vi) another family member; or (vii) another person the court designates.