By MICHELE M. BETTI | b&a opinions | https://bettiandassociates.com
The 2015 National Crime Victim Bar Association’s National Conference will be held September 9-11 in Anaheim, CA.
The conference will be held in conjunction with the National Center for Victims of Crime’s 2015 National Training Institute, bringing together up to 1,000 civil attorneys, victim advocates, criminal justice professionals and law enforcement officers to share their knowledge and experience across disciplines.
The National Crime Victim Bar Association is an affiliate and program of the National Center for Victims of Crime. It was founded in April 1999, creating the nation’s first professional association of attorneys and expert witnesses dedicated to helping victims seek justice through the civil system. The National Crime Victim Bar Association continues the pioneering work of Frank Carrington and is a testament to the National Center for Victims of Crime’s long-standing commitment to civil justice for victims. Crime victims deserve compensation for the harms they have suffered, and third parties are increasingly held accountable through the civil justice system.
Frank G. Carrington is often referred to as the “father of the crime victims’ rights movement in America.” As a Federal law enforcement official, police legal advisor, and attorney, Mr. Carrington was an early advocate of the rights of crime victims. Publication of his book, The Victims, in 1975, sparked new attention to a neglected area of the criminal justice system. His service on the Attorney General’s Task Force on Violent Crime in 1981 and the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982 assured expertise on victims’ rights at the highest levels of government. The Final Report of the President’s Task Force continues to serve as the blueprint for the fair treatment of crime victims.
In recognition of his outstanding leadership in the crime victims’ rights movement, Mr. Carrington was given the highest honor that a crime victim advocate can receive – the National Crime Victim Service Award – during a White House ceremony in 1991. Frank’s association with the National Center for Victims of Crime dates back to 1986, when he first developed the concept that eventually became the National Crime Victim Bar Association.
Frank’s contribution to the field of victim civil litigation extended beyond his work with the National Center for Victims of Crime. Frank co-authored the nation’s first case law book written specifically on the subject, titled Victims’ Rights: Law and Litigation, and the only manual available for attorneys in the field, The Attorney’s Victim Assistance Manual.
In 1991, as part of a National Center project funded by the Office for Victims of Crime in the U.S. Department of Justice, Frank wrote Legal Remedies for Crime Victims Against Perpetrators: Basic Principles. The primary purpose of the manual was to educate social service providers about the basics of civil litigation so they could, in turn, educate crime victims about their rights and remedies within the civil justice system. This manual served as the basis for the Legal Remedies for Crime Victims: Basic Principles Regional Training Series. Frank Carrington led the very first training program in San Diego, California in 1991. This training program became our Civil Justice for Victims of Crime seminars, which have trained thousands of advocates across the country.
From his days as a law enforcement officer to his service on President Reagan’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, Frank’s legal genius, unflinching dedication, and boundless generosity helped establish and mold the entire movement. Despite the towering contributions he made to the field through a lifetime of legal scholarship, his greatest legacy is the thousands of broken lives he made more livable by helping victims find an alternative path to justice and a new road to recovery.
Copyright 2015, b&a opinions.
–Michele M. Betti of the Law Offices Of Betti & Associates is an advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
–If you have any information on any pedophile priests in the United States or other child sexual abusers please immediately come forward and report their abuse to law enforcement agencies.
