Louisiana’s Supreme Court agreed Friday to reconsider its recent ruling that worn out a state law giving adult victims of childhood sexual abuse a renewed opportunity to file damage lawsuits.
The law was passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2021 and amended in 2022. Sometimes called a “look back” law, it gave victims of past abuse, whose deadlines for filing civil lawsuits had expired, until June 14 of this yr to file — a deadline that could possibly be prolonged until June of 2027 under pending laws. At the time, its chief sponsor, Rep. Jason Hughes, a New Orleans Democrat, cited research that showed the typical age for child sex abuse victims to report the crimes is 52.
In a 4-3 ruling in March, the state’s highest court had said the law conflicted with due process rights within the state structure. Justices James Genovese, Scott Crichton, Jefferson Hughes and Piper Griffin had been in the bulk in March. But in Friday’s order, Crichton and Griffin joined Chief Justice John Weimer and justices Jay McCallum and William Crain in granting a rehearing.
“This was the proper decision — because the bill passed unanimously through the State Legislature and needs to be the law here in Louisiana,” Louisiana Attorney Gen. Liz Murrill said in a news release.
Friday’s decision comes because the Catholic Church continues to take care of the ramifications of a decades-old sex scandal. The ruling that’s getting a re-assessment arose from a case filed against the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette by plaintiffs who said they were molested by a priest within the Nineteen Seventies while they ranged in age from 8 to 14, in line with the Supreme Court record.
The rehearing decision follows last week’s revelation that Louisiana State Police carried out a sweeping search warrant in April on the Archdiocese of New Orleans, looking for records and communications between local church leaders and the Vatican in regards to the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse.
Friday’s order didn’t set a latest court date for arguments on the look back law, however it gave parties until May 20 to file briefs. The latest majority didn’t assign reasons for granting a rehearing, although Weimer said the court must have set a hearing for this month.
Hughes criticized the choice in a transient dissent saying civilizations have provided cut-off dates on legal claims for hundreds of years.
“Special interest exceptions are anathema to the broader and more essential concept of Justice,” he wrote. “Equal protection means equal.”
