Victim Legal Resources

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The following are potential avenues you may want to explore if your rights have been violated including filing complaints, taking legal action or going to the media for help. The information provided below is high-level to help you better understand some of these options. The current reality is there aren't many options available to help enforce victims' rights violations but we are working to change this with the legislation we are working to introduce next year.  We will update with more specific options as we continue to grow and scale our outreach and impact. 

1. Law Enforcement/Local Government Complaints: Depending on the nature of your rights violation, you may have several options to file complaints. You can file complaints with local law enforcement, local or state agencies depending on your particular situation. Research your particular area to determine what complaint processes are available. You may want to reference your local police, sheriff, city or town councils, county board websites to see what complaint processes they have or call these agencies directly to ask them for assistance. In addition, you may want to research any local victim advocacy groups in your area to see if they can assist you with enforcing your rights. 

2. Attorney Regulation and Disciplinary Agency Complaints: Filing a complaint with an attorney disciplinary agency may be helpful but could depend on your particular state and situation.  Research what agencies are available for your particular location to see if you can file a complaint against an attorney, assistant state's attorney or state's attorney. Determine what types of complaints they receive and ask them specifically how they process complaints and if your complaint information will be sent to the party you are filing against. This may impact your decision if you decide to try to file a legal civil case at some point.  Some agencies will provide the other party with your complaint information and evidence as part of their complaint process. Some agencies will indicate you must first  file cases in court to prove their actions were willful and wanton and overcome any qualified or prosecutorial immunity defenses. 

3. Judicial Regulatory Review Complaints: For judges you'll want to search on judicial review boards for your particular area or state.  Determine what types of complaints they receive and ask them specifically how they process complaints and if your complaint information will be sent to the party you are filing against. This may impact your decision if you decide to try to file a legal civil case at some point. Some agencies will indicate you must first  file cases in court to prove their actions were willful and wanton and overcome any qualified or prosecutorial immunity defenses. 

4. Legal Action: Should you need to seek legal action against members of law enforcement, states attorney offices or judges, you may find it difficult to find a particular law firm that specializes in these cases.  We are currently working to build out a roster of vetted attorneys who will take on these cases but for now, you can search on attorneys who provide civil and human rights, domestic violence, sexual assault, law enforcement misconduct, legal malpractice and possibly victims' rights services to potentially find an attorney to help. Please see the legal resources above for help finding an attorney or pro se resources should you choose/need to file a case yourself. 

5. Media Reporting/Elected Officials: Sometimes if assistance does not seem available, it can be helpful to reach out to your local, regional or state media outlets or elected representatives so they can report on these abuses and rights violations. If you decide you would like to go public there are a number of ways you can do this either anonymously or publicly.  We've included a link to an organization Survivors Say, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing survivors, victims and their families with free strategic communications services and resources in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy, serving as their adviser, advocate and spokesperson when — or if — they choose to tell their story. 

In addition, you can also share your story with CARE for Victims in our Victims Voices collection.  This information is collected and reported on to show patterns of injustice in certain areas by city/town/county and state.  These stories help us show the prevalence of these injustices and bolster and support our legislation efforts to address these issues. Your voice and your story have impact.