The Washington Post kicks off National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by publishing an op-ed that actually begrudges the limited gains that victims of crime have made. The author, Washington criminal defense lawyer Barry Boss, fires off random shots at his various pet peeves, blaming them all on the victims' rights and "tough on crime" movements.

He blames being "tough on crime" for "6-year-olds being arrested for tantrums at school." Such arrests are nonsense, of course, but they have nothing whatever to do with a movement that called for adequate punishment of rapists and murderers. They are the product of a lack of common sense in schools, an entirely different problem. He also blames being "tough on crime" for innocent people being on death row. But toughness or laxity in sentencing has little to do with the accuracy of the guilt determination. Indeed, if we spent fewer resources on exhaustive psychosocial investigations of murderers' entire lives, we would have more to spend on being certain we have the real perpetrator in the relatively few capital cases where that is subject to doubt.

So what does crime victims' rights legislation actually provide? Not much, really. For example, 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a) provides a right to notice of what is happening, a right to be heard at critical decision points, and vague rights to restitution and to be treated with fairness and respect. That's it.  Victims cannot insist that charges be filed.  They cannot veto plea bargains. They cannot do any of the things that prosecutors do. Yet Mr. Boss objects that the law gives victims "the right to serve as de facto prosecutors." Hogwash.

Mr. Boss goes on to claim that the rights provided to victims are "mutually exclusive" with those provided to the defendant. This is simply false. None of the victims' rights stated in the law is contrary to the rights to jury trial, confrontation of witnesses, due process of law, or speedy trial.

Oh, yes, speedy trial. There is one more victim's right stated in § 3771:  "The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay." And if you believe that is being respected, I'd like to sell you a bridge.