The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 33 : Human Services

Chapter 052 : Delinquency Proceedings

Subchapter 002 : Petition, Merits, and Disposition

• § 5234. Rights of victims in delinquency proceedings involving a listed crime

  (a) The victim in a delinquency proceeding involving a listed crime shall have the following rights:

  (1) To be notified by the prosecutor’s office in a timely manner of the following:

  (A) when a delinquency petition has been filed, the name of the child and any conditions of release initially ordered for the child or modified by the court, unless otherwise limited by court order;

  (B) the victim’s rights as provided by law, information regarding how a case proceeds through a delinquency proceeding, the confidential nature of delinquency proceedings, and that it is unlawful to disclose confidential information concerning the proceedings to another person;

  (C) when a predispositional or dispositional court proceeding is scheduled to take place and when a court proceeding of which the victim has been notified will not take place as scheduled; and

  (D) whether delinquency has been found and disposition has occurred, and any conditions of release or conditions of probation and any restitution, unless otherwise limited by court order.

  (2) To file with the court a written or recorded statement of the impact of the delinquent act on the victim and the need for restitution.

  (3) To be present during all court proceedings subject to the provisions of Rule 615 of the Vermont Rules of Evidence; to attend the disposition hearing to present a victim impact statement and to express reasonably the victim’s views concerning the offense and the youth, including testimony in support of the victim’s claim for restitution pursuant to section 5235 of this title; to be notified as to the disposition, including probation; and to submit oral or written statements to the court at such other times as the court may allow. The court shall consider the victim’s statement when ordering disposition.

  (4) To be notified by the agency having custody of the delinquent child before the child is released into the community from a secure or staff-secured residential facility. The name of the facility shall not be disclosed. An agency’s inability to give notification shall not preclude the release. However, in such an event, the agency shall take reasonable steps to give notification of the release as soon thereafter as practicable. Notification efforts shall be deemed reasonable if the agency attempts to contact the victim at the address or telephone number provided to the agency in the request for notification.

  (5) To have the court take the victim’s views into consideration in the court’s disposition order. If the victim is not present, the court shall consider whether the victim has expressed, either orally or in writing, views regarding disposition and shall take those views into account when ordering disposition.

  (6) [Repealed.]

  (b) The prosecutor’s office shall keep the victim informed and consult with the victim through the delinquency proceedings. (Added 2007, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; amended 2015, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 21; 2021, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. June 1, 2022.)