Who qualifies as a \u201cvictim\u201d is the foundational question for the Crime Victims\u2019 Rights Act (\u201cCVRA\u201d or \u201cAct\u201d) and other crime victims\u2019 rights laws. This article provides the first comprehensive exploration of this \u201cvictim\u201d defini tion question. It traces how the CVRA (and many states) define \u201cvictim\u201d as broadly covering anyone who has been harmed as the result of a crime.<\/p>\n
This article begins by reviewing how the definition of \u201cvictim\u201d has evolved in the criminal justice system since the Nation\u2019s founding. In the last several decades, as crime victims\u2019 rights protections have proliferated, it has become necessary to define \u201cvictim\u201d with precision. The definition of \u201cvictim\u201d has evolved from a person who was the target of a crime to a much broader understanding of a person who has suffered harm as the result of a crime. The CVRA provides a good illustration of the expansive contemporary definition of \u201ccrime victim\u201d\u2014a definition not fully appreciated by courts, prosecutors, and other actors in the federal criminal justice system. The Act defines \u201cvictim\u201d as a person \u201cdirectly and proximately harmed\u201d by a crime, extending crime victims\u2019 protections to many persons who may not have been the target of a crime.<\/p>\n
This article then analyzes important categories of crimes\u2014violent, property, firearms, environmental, and governmental-process crimes\u2014where \u201cvictim\u201d definition issues often occur. It also takes a close look at a significant recent case involving the CVRA\u2019s crime victim definition: the Boeing 737 MAX crashes case.<\/p>\n
The article concludes by arguing that legislators should adopt, and courts should enforce, a broad conception of a \u201ccrime victim\u201d as anyone who suffers harm from a crime. This conception would ensure that victims\u2019 rights are extended to all who need their protection.<\/p>\n