State v. Gault
Annotate this CaseThe State filed an application for an arrest warrant for Defendant, alleging a charge of kidnapping in the first degree for the purpose of committing a sexual assault. The trial court ordered that the affidavit supporting the arrest warrant, which recounted statements of the victim and other individuals regarding the incident, be sealed for fourteen days. The victim requested that the affidavit remain sealed indefinitely, citing her right to be treated with fairness and respect throughout the criminal justice process under the state's victims rights amendment. The trial court denied the victim's motion. The Supreme Court dismissed the victim's appeal without reaching its merits, holding that the victim lacked standing to pursue the appeal, as nothing in the victims rights amendment itself or in subsequently enacted legislation explicitly makes victims parties to criminal prosecutions or otherwise affords them rights to appeal.
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