Federal appeals court will reconsider Jeffrey Epstein victims case

In a major victory for victims of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an Atlanta-based appeals court on Friday agreed to revisit a decision in a lawsuit alleging that federal prosecutors violated victims’ rights by hatching a secret non-prosecution deal without getting the input of women who were abused by the wealthy financier when they were minors.

Courtney Wild, a Florida woman who as a teen was one of Epstein’s numerous victims, filed a lawsuit against prosecutors in 2008, alleging that the agreement violated her rights under the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act to confer with the government’s lawyers and to be treated fairly by them.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April ruled that, although the facts of the case are “beyond scandalous” and a “national disgrace,” the agreement did not violate the federal victims-rights law.

But the appeals court on Friday granted Wild’s request for what is known as an “en banc,” or full court, rehearing and vacated the three-judge panel’s April 14 decision. As is typical in such proceedings, the appellate judges did not give a reason for the reversal.... (Read more)

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