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Victim Witness Assistance

The Federal Victim-Witness Assistance Program’s goal is to ensure that victims of federal crimes are treated with fairness and respect for the victims’ dignity and privacy. This program carries out the mandates of the Federal Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, the Crime Control Act of 1990, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Justice for All Act of 2004, and the May 2005 Attorney General’s Guidelines. These victim-witness assistance and protection laws and guidelines apply to all victims and witnesses of federal crimes who have suffered physical, financial, or emotional trauma. In compliance with these mandates, we provide a variety of notification and assistance services to victims of and witnesses to federal crimes.

Federal Crime Victims' Rights
Toll-Free Victim Witness Telephone Numbers
Directions to Courthouses
Office for Victims of Crimes

Click here for Office of the Victims’ Rights Ombudsman and Publication of Spanish Translation of Complaint Form for Victims’ Complaints Brought Under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771

Federal Crime Victims' Rights:

  • The right to be reasonably protected from the accused.
  • The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused.
  • The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding.
  • The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding.
  • The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case.
  • The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law.
  • The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay.
  • The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy.
  • The right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement.
  • The right to be informed of the rights under this section and the services described in section 503(c) of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10607(c)) and provided contact information for the Office of the Victims' Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice.
     

Toll-Free Victim Witness Telephone Numbers:

Albany Columbus Macon
1-877-537-3811 1-888-240-2954 1-888-415-0922

 

Directions to Courthouses: Albany - Athens - Columbus - Macon - Valdosta

Albany
201 West Broad Avenue

  1. Take I-75 to the Georgia-Florida Parkway Exit (Highway 300).
  2. Stay on Highway 300 into Albany.
  3. Right on Highway 82 (Oglethorpe Blvd towards downtown)
  4. Right on Washington Street (a one-way street)
  5. Follow Washington Street for two blocks.
  6. The Albany Courthouse will be on the left on the corner of Washington and West Broad.

Athens
115 Hancock Avenue

  1. Take Gray Highway (129 North) to Gray.
  2. When you enter into downtown Gray, get into the left lane.Turn left after crossing railroad tracks (129 North)
  3. When you pass the Eatonton city limits sign, take a left at the traffic light for the James Marshall by-pass (Hwy 441/129)
  4. After crossing I-20 take a right on to the Madison by-pass.
  5. When you pass the Athens/Clarke County City Limits sign you will turn onto South Lumpkin.  (Look for Princeton United Methodist Church)
  6. Lumpkin Street will take you downtown and right to the courthouse.  When you get to the downtown area, stay in the middle (straight arrow) lane.

Parking -- You can park at the meter for 25 cents but limited to only one hour.  There is a parking garage located two blocks away.  Here's how you get to the parking garage:

  1. Turn right behind the courthouse
  2. Turn right at the next Intersection
  3. Go through two lights and the entrance to the parking garage will be on the right (you will see the garage).
  4. It costs $5.00 per day and you need to get there before 9 a.m. to get a good parking spot.

**Notes and Reminders About Athens**

  • Look out for students!  There are crosswalks all along Lumpkin as you get closer to the downtown area.  Sometimes they will walk when they aren't supposed to cross.  Be cautious and alert.
  • Lumpkin Street past the University is a four-lane road but it has very narrow lanes.
  • Most of the trip from Macon to Athens involves two-lane roads.  Keep this in mind when planning your travel time.

COLUMBUS
120 12th Street

  1. Take US 80 to Talbotton.
  2. At the courthouse in Talbotton (traffic light), turn right onto highway 208.
  3. Follow 208 for four miles to its intersection with highway 315 from the left.
  4. Turn left onto 315 and follow it approximately 11 miles until it deadends into highway 85/US 27.
  5. Turn left onto 85/27. Within less than a mile it becomes a four lane.
  6. Take the second exit off 85/27. This puts you back onto US 80, another four lane.
  7. Turn right onto 80 and stay on it (it parallels I-185 at points) until you reach the "Second Avenue-Downtown" Exit. Take this exit and follow Second Avenue into town to the federal courthouse at the intersection of Second Avenue and Twelfth Street.

MACON
475 Mulberry Street

From South Georgia

  • Take I-75 North to Macon
  • Stay on I-75 North (do not take the 475 by-pass)
  • Continue on I-75 North to the split of the Interstate; at this point bear to the right onto I-16;
  • Once on I-16 you will exit to the right onto Martin Luther King Boulevard (second exit after the split)
  • Stay on Martin Luther King Boulevard until you reach the third red light and make a right turn onto Mulberry Street.
  • The courthouse is two blocks on the right.

From Atlanta/North Georgia

  • Take I-75 South to Macon
  • Stay on I-75 South (do not take the 475 by-pass)
  • Continue on I-75 South to the split of the Interstate; at this point bear to the left onto I-16
  • Once on I-16 you will exit to the right onto Martin Luther King Boulevard (second exit after the split)
  • Stay on Martin Luther King Boulevard until you reach the third red light and make a right turn onto Mulberry Street;
  • The courthouse is two blocks on the right.

From Columbus

  • Take US 80 into Macon to I-75 North
  • Continue on I-75 North to the split of the Interstate; at this point bear to the right onto I-16
  • Once on I-16 you will exit to the right onto Martin Luther King Boulevard
  • Stay on Martin Luther King Boulevard until you reach the third red light and make a right turn onto Mulberry Street
  • The courthouse is two blocks on the right.

Parking

  • Two hour parking is available around the courthouse.  (Parking tickets are issued every two hours.)
  • There is a parking garage across from the courthouse next to the Wachovia building on Mulberry Street
  • You can enter the parking garage on the right side of the street for $5.00 a day or $.50 per hour.

Valdosta
4
01 North Patterson Street at Magnolia Street

  1. Take I-75 South
  2. Take Exit 4, turn a left under I-75 onto Westhill Avenue (Hwy. 84).
  3. Go striaight toward downtown.  After a couple of miles into downtown,  until you come to a stop light at Patterson St.  (landmark: Nations Bank on right).  Stay in left lane.
  4. Take a left on Ashley Street.  Go up 2 or 3 blocks.  (Landmark: Lowndes Co. Courthouse on left).
  5. Go pass the Post Office parking lot.  There will be a Chamber of Commerce Bldg. on left - Rogers Street  (white house).
  6. Turn beside the Chamber of Commerce on left.
  7. Take next left into the Post Office Parking Lot.
  8. Parking is terrible and you may have to park in bank parking lot beside it at your own risk.  We have yet to be towed away, but no guarantees.
Updated April 26, 2018