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State Bills to Protect Victims' Rights

New Mexico's 1st District Court Building in Santa Fe
Kevin Meerschaert
/
KSFR-FM
New Mexico's 1st District Court Building in Santa Fe

New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez introduced two bills at a Friday press conference that would solidify protections for victims of crimes.

Victims often go through lengthy pretrial interviews in a manner that most other states do not employ. It’s a process that can subject victims to re-experiencing traumas, according to a press release from the AG’s office.

The existing Victims Rights Act established protections but not the enforcement mechanisms.

The proposed legislation would aim to protect minors and adults, including those who have been sexually abused.

Torrez says most U.S. states do a much better job on this than New Mexico.

“As a career prosecutor who has worked in both the state and federal system, I can say unequivocally that New Mexico has the sad distinction of being one of the least protective states in the nation when it comes to victims’ rights,” said Torrez.

The first bill, sponsored by State Representative Meredith Dixon, of Albuquerque, would augment the Victims of Crime Act in several ways, including expanded definitions of criminal offenses, establishing the right to legal representation, and clarity around enforcement.

A second bill, sponsored by Rep. Tara Jaramillo, of Socorro, would aim to put a stop to the defense team technique of subjecting victims to so many pretrial interviews that they might elect not to participate in legal proceedings.

The bill would give victims the right to to refuse a pretrial statement and petition the court for professionals trained in forensic interviews to conduct that pre-trial session, rather than have defense attorneys, not typically trained in forensic questioning, to be in that role.

Jaramillo explains some of the ideas in her proposed measure.

“These important updates in this bill will prevent the retraumatization of that victim, strengthen our victim protections, and prevent them from facing undue pressure during criminal proceedings," Jaramillo said.

“Because forensic interviews are already used in many other states, this bill would also bring New Mexico in line with the rest of the country in how we work with children  victims and adult victims.”

Lawmakers plan to introduce the two bills at next year’s New Mexico legislature general session that begins in January.

Rob Hochschild first reported news for WCIB (Falmouth, MA) and WKVA (Lewistown, PA). He later worked for three public radio stations in Boston before joining KSFR as news reporter.