Three Honored at Crime Victims’ Rights Conference
March 26, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26, 2007 – Sacramento, CA
Contact:
Mike Curran
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
3200 Fifth Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817
916-739-7115
Three leaders in the victims’ rights movement were honored at a symposium marking the 25 th anniversary of the Victims Bill of Rights on March 21 at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.
Judge Lois Haight of the Contra Costa Superior Court, Justice George Nicholson of the California Court of Appeal, and James Rowland, former director of the California Department of Correction, each received a Pioneer Award for their efforts on behalf of victims of crime.
The awards came at the conclusion of a two-day conference, “Crime Victims’ Rights – The Third Wave,” that examined the enforcement of victims’ rights on the national stage. Although many states have added victims’ rights amendments to their statutes, keynote speaker Steve Twist, president of the Arizona Voice for Victims, issued a call for action. “We need to turn words on paper into action,” said the National Crime Victim Institute special counsel. “We need to change the culture of the criminal justice system. We need to roll up our sleeves and find attorneys to press our cause all over the nation because many victims still aren’t being heard.”
Other speakers included Douglas Beloof, law professor and director of the National Victim Law Institute at Lewis & Clark College, and Susan Fisher, Office of the Governor, Crime Victim Advocate. First-day panel discussions explored such topics as child victim-witnesses, innovation in compensation programs, and legislative issues. On the morning of the second day, participants examined high-tech crime, human trafficking, and sexual assault policy trends. In the afternoon, attendees discussed domestic violence prosecution as a model for victims’ rights, new developments in federal crime victim’s rights law, and elder abuse.
Professor Clark Kelso, the director of the Pacific McGeorge’s Capital Center for Government Law and Policy, and Julise Johanson, staff attorney of the law school-based Victims of Crime Resource Center, organized the symposium. Professor John Myers and Professor Ruth Jones were among the panel discussants. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California District Attorneys Association, Office of the Governor-Crime Victim Advocate, and the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board were event co-sponsors.
