In the majority ruling, the Eleventh Circuit denied Wild’s petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 (“CVRA”) does not permit a crime-victim to initiate a freestanding civil lawsuit seeking judicial enforcement of her CVRA rights when no criminal prosecution has been formally commenced against the defendant. The court reasoned that the statute’s wording in § 3771(b)(1) ties a court’s obligation to “ensure” victims’ rights to “any court proceeding involving an offense against a crime victim,” and thus the rights trigger only once a “preexisting proceeding” exists. Because in this matter the federal government never filed charges or otherwise commenced criminal proceedings against Jeffrey Epstein in the relevant jurisdiction and context, the court held the CVRA simply was not triggered and Wild could not enforce her rights via stand-alone litigation.

In his dissent, Judge Hull strongly disagreed, arguing that the plain language of §§ 3771(a)(5) and (a)(8) grants victims a “reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government” and a “right to be treated with fairness,” and that § 3771(d)(3) explicitly authorizes a motion for relief “if no prosecution is underway”—which, in his view, means the CVRA does create a judicial enforcement mechanism even pre-charge. Hull asserted the majority’s interpretation imposes a judicially created requirement—i.e., that an indictment or formal prosecution must be pending—when no such prerequisite appears in the statute’s text. He warned that the decision unduly favors wealthy defendants and government actors who avoid formal charges, leaving victims of pre-charge misconduct with no remedy. He would have held that Wild’s rights attached pre-charge, were violated, and that she is entitled to seek judicial enforcement.


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