CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS ACT RULING Judge Kenneth Marra — February 21, 2019
In a landmark ruling, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra found that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA) when they negotiated the 2008 Non-Prosecution Agreement with Jeffrey Epstein without informing or consulting his victims.
THE CASE: Attorney Bradley Edwards filed a CVRA complaint in 2008 on behalf of victim Courtney Wild, arguing that prosecutors were legally required to consult with identified victims before entering into a plea agreement. The case was litigated for over a decade before Judge Marra issued his ruling.
KEY FINDINGS: Judge Marra wrote that the government "particularly the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida, failed in its obligations under the CVRA" and "used the secrecy to their advantage, failing to inform victims about the Non-Prosecution Agreement." He found that prosecutors had an affirmative duty to inform victims and that their failure to do so was a violation of federal law.
IMPACT: This ruling was a catalyst for renewed public and political scrutiny of the Epstein case. Combined with Julie K. Brown's 2018 "Perversion of Justice" series in the Miami Herald, the CVRA ruling contributed to the political pressure that led to Epstein's 2019 federal arrest on new charges.
The ruling established important precedent regarding prosecutors' obligations under the CVRA when entering into plea agreements or non-prosecution agreements with defendants in cases involving identified victims.