In a divided ruling, the Louisiana State Supreme Court struck down a provision that allowed victims of decades-old molestation to pursue civil claims, affecting hundreds of child sexual abuse victims.
Child molestation advocates and victims were dismayed by the 4-3 elected court ruling.
Attorneys Richard Trahant, Soren Giselson, and John Denenea represented the plaintiffs in Friday’s decision.
Child Molestation Advocates and Victims Protest Unusual Court Verdict.
Nearly 200 political officials considered this measure legitimate. That was destroyed by four elected officials. They have no idea how much this choice has hurt youngsters who were sexually attacked and now face life sentences.
Windmann called the US Supreme Court “the final stop to see if we, as human beings, are going to let these atrocities stand and continue to happen,” and will appeal there if necessary.
After Friday’s judgment, “predators and institutions that protect predators are going to continue with their bad practices,” said Kathryn Robb of ChildUSA, an advocacy group that helped pass lookback or revival windows nationwide.
24 states and DC have upheld these statutes. Robb said that only Utah and Louisiana currently proclaim them unconstitutional.
Several lawsuits allege that a Lafayette priest, 135 miles (217 km) west of New Orleans, molested multiple children between 1971 and 1979. Louisiana’s highest court heard the concerns in January.
In 2021, the Louisiana legislature easily passed a “lookback window” provision that eliminated the statute of limitations on past claims based on scientific findings that the average victim waits 52 years to file.
The “lookback window” rule is unconstitutional, according to four Louisiana Supreme Court justices: James Genovese, Scott Crichton, Jeff Hughes, and Piper Griffin. Genovese’s majority opinion stated that reviving sexual abuse charges violated the accused abusers’ and their supporters’ due process rights to be free from damages litigation after the original filing period.
Claims timelines have changed over time. In the 1960s and 1970s, victims—including minors—had a year to report. In the 1980s and 1990s, deadlines were extended to allow child victims to sue beyond 18. These deadlines vanished in 2021.
Read more: Florida Governor Signs Law Criminalizing Public Sleeping For Homeless
Justice Urges Legislative Action on Retroactive Child Abuse Law
No matter the severity of child abuse, several justices said retroactively executing the law would be constitutionally problematic. Justice William Crain’s Friday dissenting opinion said the Louisiana legislature should give victims that right.
Crain says this issue should be in the legislature, “absent a constitutional violation, which defendants have not established.” After that discussion, the legislature repealed the procedural bar and reestablished plaintiffs’ power to sue without objection.
Chief Justice John Weimer and Jay McCallum opposed Crain’s decision. Friday’s judgment does not affect measures reducing the limit for civil damages in child sexual abuse cases that occurred after 2021.
The book Window Looking Back Friday wasn’t just about clergy abuse victims. It led to many more cases against Louisiana’s Catholic organizations and clergy.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans may gain from Friday’s ruling. The archdiocese declared bankruptcy in 2020 to avoid a stack of clergy abuse lawsuits. The lookback period was the most effective tool for clerical abuse victims suing the archdiocese to raise their damages.
The removal of the lookback window helped the archdiocese address those disputes quickly and cheaply.
After Louisiana Supreme Court justices prayed with New Orleans archbishop Gregory Aymond at St. Louis Cathedral in October, some supporters of Catholic clergy abuse victims feared the court would rule against them. The event’s organizers said Louisiana’s Catholic bishops’ conference president, Aymond, will pray for clerical abuse victims’ recovery with legal lawyers.
Read more: Countdown To SpaceX’s Starship Fourth Test Flight: Expected Launch Date?
