Civil Procedure
Sex-Abuse Scandals Prompt States to Open ‘Window Laws’
Posted Jun 11, 2009, 10:54 am CST
By Molly McDonough
High-profile sex-abuse scandals that have rocked schools, churches and communities across the country have led to new efforts to allow victims windows of time to seek redress in civil court.
Two states in particular—California and Delaware—have passed "window laws" that temporarily open civil courts for victims to air grievances that are sometimes decades old. And New York is considering joining them, the Wall Street Journal reports.
But the WSJ says there are concerns about extending a state's statute of limitations because evidence can become stale and memories fade. Many times the alleged perpetrators are dead or retired.
"It's almost impossible to defend the cases," Mark Chopko, former counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, tells the WSJ.
Then there's the issue of fairness. "If 25 years have gone by and a defendant can be sued, there's an aspect of this that can seem unfair," Yale law professor Peter H. Schuck is quoted saying.
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