Law Essay on the Right to Recover

An act of crime can subject the defendant to a situation that they need to compensate the loss they have caused in the crime scene. There are many criminal categories ranging from theft to murder, and all these are punishable because they cause loss, suffering or grieve to the victim. The court has ruled out various stages that the victim should follow in order to recover their belongings (Moore, 2010). It is important to note that there are some cases where recovering does not apply for example death; life cannot be brought back. In this topic, we are going to evaluate the right to recover.

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With the increased rates of criminal offenses, there are losses associated with the event. Therefore government agencies have taken a step to curb more crimes by subjecting the defendant to the punishment of compensating. Businesses have run at a loss for theft cases, people have lost their loved ones through murder as well as physical suffering through injuries. In most cases, the criminals disappear and it becomes difficult to trace them especially on the basis a planned scenario. However, in the case where the defendant is found and judged guilty, they are therefore responsible and hence they will pay back according to law. However, there is a limit to which one can recover the losses, take for example a situation where there is no evidence, and the victim does not have anything to present to the court, this will, therefore, limit the right to recover. Therefore it is important to gather all the evidence before going to court to seek justice on losses resulting from the criminal offense (Stephen, 2014).

Often, victims are subjected to crimes, and they end up being injured, dead or property loss. Without a proper guideline, the victim may find it difficult to seek legal justice to recover their losses. There are factors that result in this situation which are; Lack of appropriate knowledge on how to seek legal justice. Most victims who do not have any knowledge on their right fall under this category where they are not aware of legal procedure that guarantees them their right to be repaid upon being victims of the criminal offense. It takes the effort of the right attorney and court proceedings to enable an individual to be compensated. However, this scenario occurs to those who have the ability to hire a lawyer. For the case of victims of violence, the government has to intervene so that compensation can take place.

The willingness to let go; this is a situation where the victim will surrender the loss and let go of the burden. Take for example a family that lost their loved one through murder, if the offender or the murderer is not found, the family may decide to let go and they will not receive any compensation. Also for the case of property damage, the victim may decide not to go to the court for compensation if the criminal was found dead or disappeared.

There are mechanisms used by the court to enable the victim to be compensated which are; compensating the victim of crime and restitution.

Restitution

This is a form of recovery that has the court involved in giving orders to the defendant to compensate the losses caused to the victim. Restitution is ordered when; the court has agreed and considered the process necessary for the purpose of rehabilitation, the victim needs it to become complete, and the losses incurred by the victim are directly linked to the crime committed by the defendant.

The court has also ruled out the victim, who should have the right to recover through restitution, the direct victim; when an individual suffers directly as a result of the criminal act for example in regards to finance, the person will be paid. It can either be an organization, an individual or a corporation that has suffered. Indirect victim; when there is a murder case, the people who will benefit from compensation are the close relative or family. The third party; this is when the victim is insured, the defendant will transfer restitution to the company under which the cover was taken. Government; there is some case where the defendant is judged guilty but there is no victim, in this case, the government takes up the restitution.

In the case of recovery through restitution, the expenses reimbursed to recover losses are categorized depending on the level of crime. For example the case of murder, the defendant will be responsible for catering for expenses to be used in the funeral. For the case of injury resulting from the criminal act and the victim is not able to go to work, the defendant will, therefore, pay for wages lost due to absence at the workplace. For the case of damaged or lost properties, the defendant will, therefore, restitute through repairing the damaged or replacing the lost property. Medical expenses are also covered when the victim was subject to medical attention that required therapy, surgery or counseling. It is important for any person who has been subjected to crime to seek the right process so as to recover losses. This can be accomplished through finding the right attorney who will take the victim through the legal process of seeking compensation.

However, the court will not rule out the restitution order before evaluation of defendants financial capability or the future prospects. Conducting an evaluation of individual finance status is important because it determines the amount of compensation needed. Take for example a defendant who has absolutely nothing to compensate, the family members will therefore be liable because the court will rule out minimal compensation compared to an offender with investments or a certain amount of money in the bank.

Compensating the victim

This is a form of repaying back the victim that is different from restitution because it does not involve conviction and only specific crimes are subject to compensation. It is the responsibility of the government to compensate in this case. In most cases, the government compensates victims who have been under violence, an accident caused by a drunk driver, assault, rape, child abuse and violence associated with domestic issues.

The mode of repayment used in this case is almost similar to that of restitution. Example if the victim suffered and had an injury in any part of the body, they will be entitled to medical compensation. For the case of property damage, the government will compensate through giving money to the victim to recover their property either through repairing or through replacing. However, compared to restitution, compensating a victim is faster because it involves government intervention. There are two procedures used in this case, the judicial and administrative; it is important to follow because the defendant may decline the charge to repay because the victim did not go through the right procedure for claiming compensation.

Reference

Stephen, J. F. (2014). A history of the criminal law of England (Vol. 2). Cambridge University Press.

Moore, M. S. (2010). Placing blame: A theory of the criminal law. Oxford University Press, USA.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/crime-victim-compensation.html