Justice for Crime Victims Act of 2014
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Justice for Crime Victims Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to add to the list of crime victims' rights: (1) the right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement, and (2) the right to be informed of victims' rights and the services described in the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 and to be provided contact information for the Office of the Victims' Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Requires the court of appeals to: (1) take up and decide an application for relief and writ of mandamus regarding a victim's rights within 72 hours after a petition has been filed (current law), unless the litigants, with the court's approval, have stipulated to a different time period for consideration; and (2) apply ordinary standards of appellate review in deciding such application.
Defines "court of appeals" for purposes of crime victims' rights provisions to mean: (1) the U.S. court of appeals for the judicial district in which a defendant is being prosecuted; or (2) for a prosecution in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Makes sums in the Crime Victims Fund that are made available for the U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for services for the benefit of crime victims in the federal criminal justice system to be available only for such services provided through victim coordinators, victims' specialists, and advocates, including for the administrative support of such victim coordinators and advocates.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 6, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 16, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Trent Franks (R-AZ) introduced it on March 6, 2014, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 5 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 6, 2014, 4571 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4530 days ago, on April 16, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers