The Louisiana attorney general wants the state supreme court to revisit its decision to invalidate a 2021 law lifting the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims to sue their abusers.
On Friday, Attorney General Liz Murrill announced that she has filed a rehearing application with the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Murrill is seeking a reversal of a March decision in which the justices invalidated a law allowing victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits against their abusers and organizations that sheltered those abusers regardless of when the abuse happened. By a 4-3 vote, the court eliminated the lookback window created by the legislature in 2021 and signed into law by then-Governor John Bel Edwards.
The decision stemmed from a court case in which plaintiffs from St. Martin Parish sued a church and the Diocese of Lafayette. The plaintiffs accused a priest at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church of abusing them between 1971 and 1979 when they were between the ages of eight and fourteen.
“Today, my team filed a rehearing application urging the Louisiana Supreme Court to rehear its decision foreclosing child victims of sexual abuse from suing to vindicate their rights," Murrill said in a statement. "Our brief explains that this case raises serious concerns about the separation of powers and the proper judicial role. We are hopeful that the Court will agree, take a second look, and give these victims their day in court. I will continue to show my support for victims of sexual assault.”
In the majority opinion, Justice Jimmy Genovese wrote that despite the "laudable intent of the legislation," the law "runs afoul of the due process protection set forth in (the state's) constitution." However, in a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Weimer said Genovese and the majority failed to explain how the law violated the due process of the accused.
