Who may appoint a lawyer under the special rule for stalking-crime victims, and where may that lawyer take part and speak?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind we look for the paper by which the victim, or the victim's legal representative, appointed the lawyer, and for any record showing that person's legal-representative status, plus any note of a fact-confirmation, interview or investigation by a prosecutor or judicial police officer and whether approval to speak was given.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the two actors named in the provision together: the victim and the victim's legal representative may each appoint a lawyer, and the stated purposes are to defend against the harm that can be suffered in criminal proceedings and to secure legal assistance.
Another reading stresses the condition attached to the appointed lawyer's speaking: the lawyer may participate in a fact-confirmation, interview or investigation held by a prosecutor or judicial police officer, but may state opinions during one only with that official's approval, so participation and speaking are not the same thing and the provision leaves open when approval will be given.
Your judgment
If the file shows the lawyer present at an interview but no record of approval, how could the victim show whether anything the lawyer said was properly received?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change who may appoint a lawyer or to remove the approval requirement, or if a court decision explains when a prosecutor or judicial police officer must give that approval.