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I'd like your stories about dealing with the the legal system when you've been the victim of a crime. Particularly with regard to what happened after the police/legal system arrested someone. I'm gathering this to try to design an app/system to connect the victims of crimes with up to date info and analysis about crimes that have happened to them, so they can feel more empowered/in control. I'd like to know specifically: (feel free to include whatever else you think I should know) -What was the crime? (can be vague as you want) -How did you feel about the process? (If there were problems, describe the top 3 problems) -What happened after they arrested the person? -How did the process (e.g. police, DA's office) provide updates about the case to you/set your expectations? -How did you give input into the process? -Did you care if the perp faced consequences? -Did you seek damages in some way? -If something could tell you what legal documents mean and predict how the case would progress based on data, would you pay for a system like that? How much would you pay? CarForumPoster fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Sep 4, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 03:17
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 08:33 |
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I got no replies in a day...so I'll follow up: Is this a problem that doesn't exist? What if I offered $5 for your feedback/survey? Interested in replying by PM instead of publicly? CarForumPoster fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Sep 4, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 22:03
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you give me 5 bucks I'll pm you some bullshit I made up about crime
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Sep 6, 2017 14:27
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N. Senada posted:you give me 5 bucks I'll pm you some bullshit I made up about crime Politely decline. Surprised more goons havent been robbed or something
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Sep 7, 2017 21:29
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Just to make sure I'm clear - you're considering building a system where police would upload information about a crime for a victim to access to find out more information about where in process the investigation/prosecution is?
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Sep 7, 2017 21:36
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Shooting Blanks posted:Just to make sure I'm clear - you're considering building a system where police would upload information about a crime for a victim to access to find out more information about where in process the investigation/prosecution is? Close, we're planning to use the already available info from the clerks of courts, county jails, 911 call logs, etc. to give a give a victim info about a case as well as analysis about that info. It requires no extra effort by the government except where they dont make this info available online. In that case we will auto generate and send requests for the info. Here's an example of what we're discussing that the victim would see: Top of page: A timeline of the process you can click to get documents and analysis as well as see what comes next and when. Middle of page: Bob Badguy was charged with Burglary (Statue XXX.YYY). He has been arrested XX times. On average, if convicted, he will face XX months of jail time. If a victim impact statement is written, he'll face 1.5*XX months of jail time (Link to a free template for making a good victim impact statement). Click here for a victims resources group in your area. --end of page-- That sort of thing. We'd also provide information about what each document means...like what is a summary judgement? What is a summons and subpeona? etc.
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Sep 7, 2017 23:46
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CarForumPoster posted:If a victim impact statement is written, he'll face 1.5*XX months of jail time (Link to a free template for making a good victim impact statement). like uber, but for making america's over-incarceration problem worse
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Sep 7, 2017 23:52
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What inspired you to come up with this idea?
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Sep 8, 2017 00:26
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Shooting Blanks posted:What inspired you to come up with this idea? It was a bit of a two part thing. First, a friend was the victim of a break in/stalking that was targeted at her. Interpreting what was going on with the case and predicting what would happen next was difficult even though I generally like law and feel comfortable understanding the process in my state. The Police and district attorney wouldn't return her calls unless they needed something. I get it, they arent her therapist, but overall I feel like she would've had less anxiety over the thing if she felt more informed about the process. Second, about 6 months later an attorney friend approached me with a way to make better weekly notes for attorneys (this is probably not a very big market). I realized it could be adapted to solve the problem described above and now we're planning whether or not its a worthwhile endeavor and if it is, what do the users of it need. Hence, this thread. Jeb Bush 2012 posted:like uber, but for making america's over-incarceration problem worse Well, really this could be used regardless of what side of the process you're on. If you have a PD who also isnt returning your calls and you feel out of the loop of the legal process, you'd probably also benefit from this. Overall I believe everyone has a right to understand their role in the legal process.
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Sep 8, 2017 01:23
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CarForumPoster posted:The Police and district attorney wouldn't return her calls unless they needed something. This was my experience. My state doesn't make documents available online. My ex, the defendant, drove my car to another state after attacking me, and that state did post online records, which I was able to find. A non-profit agency guided me through the process of getting a restraining order, and went to court to bug the DA for me to get info. My problem was not that I needed stuff aggregated, so much, but that literally no info was unless I bugged them or sent someone to bug them. I think the part that might help and be feasible to do would be the middle part where it just says "on average, dna testing takes this long in your state" or "this is the average sentence for this crime."
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Sep 8, 2017 01:38
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littlebluellama posted:This was my experience. My state doesn't make documents available online. My ex, the defendant, drove my car to another state after attacking me, and that state did post online records, which I was able to find. That's awful I'm sorry that happened to you. Once this nonprofit got you the info, what'd you do with it? In hindsight is there anything you wish you did differently? Would you post or PM me the name of the nonprofit and service? I didn't know this was a thing. We may be able to help them or us help each other in some way.
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Sep 8, 2017 03:44
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Well, the one thing I could see online was upcoming court dates for the case, so I was constantly having to ask if I needed to be there. The 2 times I actually had to go, it ended up being an "oops, can you be in court tomorrow/2 days from now?" after I had been endlessly checking for literally 2 years. I'll PM the name of the non-profit if I can figure out how, they helped me figure out forms, and sent someone to court with me every time I had to go. I had an e/n thread about it with more detail than you would probably need, updated as it happened: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3750499&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 and the case just wrapped up last month: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3830435 Most of the info I got (other than literally if I had to show up) was just valuable for peace of mind that something was progressing. The forms they informed me about were for victim compensation for medical bills and possible restitution from him, victim impact statements, etc.
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Sep 8, 2017 04:43
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littlebluellama posted:Most of the info I got (other than literally if I had to show up) was just valuable for peace of mind that something was progressing. The forms they informed me about were for victim compensation for medical bills and possible restitution from him, victim impact statements, etc. I'm definitly going to read them and appreciate you sharing. How complicated were the forms in your opinion? Did that feel like a pain in the rear end? My friend didnt go after restitution despite definitely being owed it just wanting to put it behind her. Its another point that I think if I could've said "the average is _____ and on average it takes ____ time to be paid off" that it would've allowed her to make a more informed decision, even if she decided the same thing.
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Sep 8, 2017 04:49
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So, I guess as far as the court dates, it would have been useful to see, "this has been filed as an administrative court date to ask for a continuance, there is no way you have to go" or, "this has been filed as a type of court date that determines whether the case is thrown out...be sure to contact the DA office!" and also most of the info I could find about specific crimes or charges was aimed at defendants...sort of annoying when you're the victim and it's all defense lawyers saying "so that's what that charge means; don't let them take away YOUR FREEDOM by successfully convicting you blah blah blah!"
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Sep 8, 2017 05:14
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CarForumPoster posted:I'm definitly going to read them and appreciate you sharing. How complicated were the forms in your opinion? Did that feel like a pain in the rear end? Since I had someone helping me line by line, the forms were ok, but there are a lot of crimes that don't have specific groups dedicated to helping the victims. It definitely helped me to hear from someone familiar with the form, "this is WHY they need the info, this is what they're looking for," when the instructions on the forms can be kind of dryly written or non-existent (for example on the victim impact statement). They also were able to clue me in to what programs were available and just directly give me the form for it. I would never have imagined that there was a form I could fill out to be reimbursed for my medical bills related to the crime, or keep my address secret when I moved. My physical address is not on my driver's license or voting registration, so it can't be looked up in the public record. Anyone with a stalker or other such abusive/violent person threatening them can use this program, but I had never heard of it. I was also able to talk to a publicly-funded lawyer about my restraining order, and by chance, it was on one of the days when I found out I would have to be in court the next day and "preview" my testimony to the public defender. I don't remember what this was called, but it was a deal where I didn't have to testify in open court in front of the judge, his lawyer waived some sort of a hearing if she could hear what my testimony was going to be. Anyway, my lawyer for the restraining order (a civil matter) was nice enough to help me practice my testimony and gave me some really good tips. just things like, "I can see smiling and laughing is a coping mechanism for you, but a judge or jury may think you are lying or don't care if you do this." Well, duh, you might think, but I didn't even register that I was doing it, when I am in an uncomfortable situation, I try to put everyone else at ease. She had to point out that I should not be trying to make people more comfortable with my horrible situation, I should be making them uncomfortable enough to take action on my behalf. Another was describe the incident in the present tense, it makes the judge or jury engage with it more. I feel like some kind of FAQ with tips about different stages of the process would be really helpful because the DA is not YOUR lawyer, you are not the plaintiff, the state is.
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Sep 8, 2017 05:38
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 08:33 |
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All of this is excellent info and you exactly hit on what we are trying to do!
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Sep 8, 2017 05:57
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