Doe 1 v. U.S.

As in New Jersey, Congress has passed victims' rights statutes, including the Crime Victims Rights Act. The below case concerns Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual abuse of numerous minor victims. The case does not address the facts of his case in any great detail but rather the criminal prosecution. In particular, the federal prosecutors engaged in lengthy negotiations with the lawyers for Epstein to arrive at a very favorable resolution for Epstein.

While prosecutors negotiated with Epstein's lawyers, they largely ignored and misled the victims in violation of the Crime Victims Rights Act. In particular, prosecutors negotiated a non-prosecution agreement, an "NPA," that would allow Epstein to avoid federal charges if he pleaded guilty to minor state charges and served limited jail time. 

We read this case primarily to see another example of a victims' rights statute--and you can jump to the discussion section for the details. But we also read the case to see an example of how prosecutors can sometimes sideline victims in an effort to resolve a case. The facts here present a somewhat appalling example of prosecutors working with defense counsel to keep victims in the dark. I have heavily edited the facts (which are still longish), but the elided sections contain even more examples of such unnerving cooperation.

You will not ultimately be responsible for knowing the CVRA or this case, other than understanding that the law creates a responsibility for prosecutors to reasonably consult with victims and alleged victims. To the extent that the facts are hard to follow, feel free to skim and rely on the summary above. 

You will also probably know that the conduct of these prosecutors led to scandal far beyond how the victims were treated. In particular, most critics thought the NPA was far to lenient in relation to Epstein's crimes. But a 2020 Justice Department report absolved the prosecutors of misconduct.

Later, federal authorities opened a separate investigation for Epstein's crimes in New York. Epstein killed himself before he could be brought to trial, but his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted in 2021 of child sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years.