Victim's Rights and the Criminal Justice Process

---

The Howard County Prosecutor's Office will reach out to you if you have been named as an alleged victim. 

It is our intent to treat all victims of crimes with dignity and  respect and to keep them informed.  In addition, cases can be tracked by  going to MyCase.in.gov - https://public.courts.in.gov/mycase/#/vw/Search - to keep up to date on case progress.  

As discussed below, alleged victims  will be consulted on possible plea negotiations as well as efforts made  to recover any out of pocket expenses incurred (allowable by law within  the criminal justice system) as a result of the crime. 

As a result, you will be notified of Court hearing dates, entry into plea negotiations, and proposed plea terms.  

Plea Agreements

The prosecutor may decide to offer the defendant a plea offer and make  the plea recommendation to the Court rather than to proceeding taking the case to a trial. 

The prosecutor considers many factors in the decision to offer a recommendation of plea agreement to the Court and will discuss the recommendation of plea with you.

Ultimately the Court will decide whether the accept the recommendation after review and consideration of many facts.

If a plea agreement is accepted by the Court, then a sentencing hearing will be held by the Court for which you may wish to attend.

Sentencing Hearing

Sentencing hearings are held after a plea agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant has been accepted by the Court, or, after the defendant has been found guilty in a trial.   

Restitution

You will also be asked about restitution amounts if you lost money or were financially harmed by the crime, and sentencing hearings.

Our office seeks to bring the full impact of the crime to the Court's attention.

As a result, the information you provided may impact sentencing and and provide for an order granting you restitution.

Our office requests that you complete a "Victim Impact Statement" providing the details of how the crime affected you and any costs listed below.

The "Victim Impact Statement" form can be found by clicking on the red link below.

Please complete the form found below and return it to our office by e-mail, mail, or bringing a copy to our office.

Indiana Code 35-50-5-3 provides that Courts shall base restitution orders upon consideration of:

(1) property damages of the victim incurred as a result of the crime, based on the actual cost of repair (or replacement if repair is inappropriate);
(2) medical and hospital costs incurred by the victim (before the date of sentencing) as a result of the crime;
(3) the cost of medical laboratory tests to determine if the crime has caused the victim to contract a disease or other medical condition;
(4) earnings lost by the victim (before the date of sentencing) as a result of the crime including earnings lost while the victim was hospitalized or participating in the investigation or trial of the crime; and
(5) funeral, burial, or cremation costs incurred by the family or estate of a homicide victim as a result of the crime.