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Great coverage of Fifth Circuit CVRA ruling in BP case

By Douglas A. Berman

The Houston Chronicle has this terrific article covering yesterday's interesting ruling about the Crime Victims' Rights Act in In Re: Dean, No. 08-20125 (5th Cir. May 7, 2008) (discussed here).  Here are excerpts from the article:A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the rights of victims of the 2005 BP explosion in Texas City were violated by Houston federal prosecutors and a judge, but the plea bargain they object to remains on the table.  The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a 2004 law that gives crime victims a say in the process was violated when the prosecutors got U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, who was handling miscellaneous courthouse items, to allow a plea bargain to be reached with BP without letting the victims know about the plan...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 08, 2008 (boomark / email).