Victim Services

Colorado law provides victims of certain designated crimes with important rights under something called the Victim’s Rights Act. In these cases, there are mandatory procedures that guide the flow of information between our office and a crime victim. You can learn more about the “VRA” at this website for the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dcj/victim-rights.

In addition to those rights, it is a critical part of the mission of our office to guide crime victims through the often confusing and complicated criminal justice process with dignity and respect. Although by law our office represents the State of Colorado, not the victim, we consider it our obligation to ensure crime victims are appropriately informed and are provided with accurate, timely and reality-based ‘counsel’ from the office prosecuting their case. Our primary way of doing that is through our victim/witness coordinators. Our “V/W” staff is specifically here to act as a point of contact between crime victims and our office. They can answer most questions and provide important information – the V/W coordinator in the county where the case is pending should be your first call if you have any questions or concerns.

In addition to working with our V/W coordinators, most often, a crime victim will also have direct contact with the prosecuting attorney assigned to the case. Due to their lawyer responsibilities in many cases, they generally do not get involved with scheduling questions or other logistical matters – this is the primary responsibility of the V/W coordinators. However, on questions such as whether a case should be resolved by plea agreement or go to trial, and what factors go into that decision, and on other topics involving substantive legal issues and the complicated rules governing a criminal prosecution, our prosecutors communicate directly with the victim.

Victim Access to Discovery

Under Colorado law, a crime victim within the scope of the Victim’s Rights Act can receive a copy of the initial incident report from the investigating law enforcement agency, at the discretion of that agency – it can be withheld if necessary due to the status of the case or security and safety concerns in a detention facility.

Generally, our office discourages a crime victim reviewing any discovery material other than copies of their own statements. This is because in the litigation process, it is the better practice to avoid witnesses being exposed to what other witnesses said, to ensure each witness is only reciting information they gained first-hand, rather than their memories or perceptions being influenced, even unconsciously, by what others said.

If you are a crime victim and want to view discovery, you should notify the V/W coordinator assigned to your case, who can discuss the matter with the assigned prosecutor, and one of them will get back to you.