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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 395 _ Filed 10/29/21 Page6of9
Courts across the country agree. F.g., Allen v. State, 644 A.2d 982, 983 n.1 (Del. 1994)
(“We recognize . . . that when, as here, consent is the sole defense in a rape case, the use of the
term ‘victim’ by a prosecutor at trial is improper and to be avoided.”); Jackson, 600 A.2d at 24
(“We agree with defendant that the word ‘victim’ should not be used in a case where the
commission of a crime is in dispute.”); State v. Nomura, 903 P.2d 718, 721 (Haw. App. Ct.
1995) (“[ T]he term ‘victim’ is conclusive in nature and connotes a predetermination that the
person referred to had in fact been wronged.”); State v. Wright, 2003 WL 21509033, at *2 (Ohio
App. Ct. July 2, 2003) (“[T]he trial court should refrain from using the term ‘victim,’ as it
suggests a bias against the defendant before the State has proven a ‘victim’ truly exists.”); State
v. Wigg, 889 A.2d 233, 236 (Vt. 2005) (“[W]here the commission of a crime is in dispute and the
core issue is one of the complainant’s credibility, it is error for a trial court to permit a police
detective to refer to the complainant as the ‘victim.’”); see also State v. Albino, 24 A.3d 602, 617
(Conn. App. Ct. 2011) (“When there is no doubt that a homicide occurred and that the defendant
was the person who caused it to occur, and the only question for the jury is whether the homicide
was justified, . . . repeated reference to the ‘victim,’ .. . amounts to an opinion on the ultimate
issue of the case.”).
Prohibiting the government from referring to the accusers as “victims” or “minor
victims” is particularly appropriate given the special role prosecutors play. “The United States
Attorney is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty
whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all.” Berger
v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935). “The responsibility of a public prosecutor [thus] differs
from that of the usual advocate; his duty is to seek justice, not merely to convict.” Young v.
United States, 481 U.S. 787, 803 (1987).
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Dates
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00005771.jpg |
| File Size | 713.4 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 92.8% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,151 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:03:06.286484 |