Since the late 1970s, the movement portrayed in this volume has been demanding that the law stand in for society as a whole, and use its authority to demonstrate the triumph of good over evil rather than simply to bear out the bureaucratic process. In so doing, its proponents are changing our concept of justice by defining a role for crime victims beyond the evidentiary need of the prosecution in a court of law. Weed examines the complex organizational system and grass roots groups affiliated with the movement, and takes a look from within at their leaders and agendas. His study also details the recent changes in state and federal laws and the legal decisions rendered in the name of "victims' rights."