Looking to the Horizon: The Future of Victims' Rights

This closing plenary will bring conference participants together to discuss the development of a shared vision for victims’ rights. After briefly reflecting on lessons learned from the past year and from the knowledge shared at the conference, the session will turn to the horizon of victims’ rights, and identify next steps we must take together to fulfill the promise made to victims to treat them with dignity and respect.

Meg Garvin is the executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), where she leads NCVLI’s national impact litigation and legal technical assistance programs. Ms. Garvin has presented on victims’ rights at more than 80 conferences across the country, regularly participates in national forums to develop policy on victims’ rights, and has testified before Congress and the Oregon Legislature on the current state of victim law. She currently serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Victims Committee, serves on the Legislative & Public Policy Committee of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, chairs the Oregon Crime Victims’ Rights Program Advisory Committee, and is a member of the board of directors for the National Organization of Victim Assistance. Prior to joining NCVLI, Ms. Garvin practiced law in a private firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota and clerked for the Honorable Donald P. Lay of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She received her B.A from the University of Puget Sound, her M.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa, and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

This conference is supported by Grant No. 2008-DD-BX-K001 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.