WASHINGTON _ Two members of Congress filed a bill Friday that would increase punishment for prosecutors if they fail to inform crime victims of plea deals, an effort to prevent future, secret agreements like the one serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein received from then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta in 2007.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., filed the Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2020 on Friday. The legislation would add specific notice requirements to ensure victims are made aware of their rights by prosecutors, and judges will be able to remove or punish prosecutors who fail to do so.
"If federal prosecutors re-victimize innocent victims _ as Epstein's horrific plea deal did _ they must be held accountable, in a timely fashion," Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. "This legislation would give our justice system vital tools to prevent such gross miscarriages of injustice from being repeated. His victims deserve to know that no one will suffer the way they have again."
Wasserman Schultz's office said she worked closely with House committee staff and Republican staff to create the reform package. Bipartisan support for bills generally helps them move through Congress faster.
The bill would also establish an office of crime victims' rights within the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility, the entity that is currently investigating Acosta's role in negotiating the plea deal. The new office would investigate complaints related to the mishandling of plea deals on behalf of victims.
Federal prosecutors who violate the rights of a crime victim could be suspended or fired, referred to state-level bar associations, suspended from practicing law on behalf of the U.S. government and referred to the Justice Department if there is evidence of criminal misconduct.
Currently, federal prosecutors could theoretically be fired for mishandling plea deals, but there's no timeline for action. The new bill provides deadlines for implementing penalties, and codifies the threat of prosecutors losing their license to practice law in every jurisdiction where they have one.
"This bipartisan bill strengthens our criminal justice system by ensuring that crime victims are not mistreated by bad-intentioned prosecutors," Sensenbrenner said in a statement. "It also increases accountability and provides a better avenue for the Justice Department to identify and root out abuse and corruption."
