Louisiana Supreme Court reconsiders ruling on ‘look back law’ for defamation lawsuits

(OSV News) – The Louisiana Supreme Court will reconsider its recent decision to cancel a “lawful retrospective review” for survivors of abuse – a move that could have a serious impact on some Catholic dioceses in a state that is struggling with major legal reforms and continues. studies.

On May 10, the Louisiana Supreme Court granted retrial to a March decision that overturned the 2021 “look back law,” which gave child abuse victims until June 14 of this year to file civil claims. Senate Bill 246 would seek to extend that deadline to June 14, 2027.

The court’s March 4-3 decision found the law violated the state constitution’s due process, upsetting survivors and supporters, and leaving request for a new trial from state attorney Liz Murrill.

Murrill, a Republican, called the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the hearing a “victory for abused children.”

“This is the right decision — since the bill passed unanimously through the State Legislature and is now the law in Louisiana,” he said. “I will always defend victims of abuse, and I look forward to the next steps in the Louisiana Supreme Court.”

Two of the judges who originally opposed the law — Scott Crichton and Piper Griffin — voted last week for a new trial.

Parties have until May 20 to submit additional comments.

The plaintiffs in the case — Douglas Bienvenu and several other plaintiffs — filed a lawsuit in 2018 against the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, and St. Father Kenneth Morvant while they were altar servers in the parish. Prosecutors say Father Morvant plied the boys – then aged 8 to 14 – with alcohol and gifts during a “sleepover” at the church before work. harming them.

Father Morvant, who died in 2003 at the age of 72, served in several Diocese of Lafayette churches for about four years. He was buried in the yard of St. Martin de Tours.

Lawyers for the Diocese of Lafayette, who asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision, argued that the reverse search law was unconstitutional because it violated the responsibility of the diocese not to be sued after the expiry of the first period for the case.

However, the chief sponsor of the law, Rep. Jason Hughes, D-New Orleans, when he introduced a bill that would make child abuse victims less likely to report their pain until age 52, a number cited by the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Children USA.

Among the Catholic dioceses of the state, the judicial request involves the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

On April 25, Louisiana State Police executed a search warrant against the archdiocese for documents related to a broader investigation into the archdiocese’s handling of abuse allegations.

The controversial document indicates that the felony of “trafficking of children for sex purposes” is the reason for its entry into the archdiocesan records.

The basis for the warrant is based on the testimony of law enforcement officer Scott Rodrigue, a state police investigator assigned to the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Rodrigue said in the February 2022 affidavit that he “began assisting the FBI after indicting members of the (Archdiocese) of New Orleans.”

In June 2022, investigators interviewed a victim of Msgr. Lawrence Hecker, now 92, was indicted by a grand jury in September 2023 on charges of aggravated assault, robbery, aggravated assault and theft. According to New Orleans Police Department reports, Msgr. Hecker – who is known as a pedophile under the care ordered by the archdiocesan – was arrested and kidnapped in the middle of Jan. 1, 1975, and Dec. 31, 1976.

The question to Msgr. Hecker, along with “interviews and documents previously obtained by a federal bankruptcy judge,” led investigators to believe that “senior members” of the archdiocese knew or ignored or covered it up. to “accusations of sexual abuse of minors dating back decades,” said Rodrigue.

A spokeswoman with the Archdiocese of New Orleans told OSV News May 1 that the archdiocese has “openly discussed the topic of sexual abuse of women for more than 20 years. As such, it remains committed to We will work with law enforcement in these efforts.”

Louisiana State Police Trooper Jacob Pucheu, public information officer, previously confirmed to OSV News that “the Archdiocese is cooperating with investigators and executing the terms of the search warrant.

“Currently, the investigation is ongoing, and we do not have any more information to give at this time,” said Pucheu, who told OSV News the search of April 25 “during a meeting with agents and counsel for the Archdiocese of New Orleans” and state police special investigators.

During the eight hours of the 2020 swearing-in ceremony – the video was released on May 10 by the local television station WWLTV as part of an ongoing investigation with The Guardian – Msgr. Hecker says “it wasn’t a big deal in those days” (referring to the 1960s and 1970s) to engage in child abuse. He also admitted that some archdiocesan officials over the years had known about his abuse, yet he was called a monsignor and was placed in priestly positions that involved him with children.

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X, Twitter first, at @GinaJesseReina.

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