September 5th Litigation Update-News Conference precedes September 10th Supreme Court session

BALTIMORE, MD (10 a.m. ET, September 5, 2024) – The Maryland Supreme Court on September 10^th is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a historic civil rights case that will determine the future of the widely-heralded Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 (CVA).  On September 5, a consortium of three law firms (Grant & Eisenhofer, Jenner Law, and Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico), held a comprehensive, pre-argument litigation update-news conference (10:00 a.m., September 5^th, at Jenner Law). The attorneys, who were among the first to file complaints under the CVA – including Bunker v. The Key School, et al., in which a federal court asked the Maryland Supreme Court to decide whether the CVA is constitutional – reviewed the litigation and explained the significance of the Court’s decision for their survivor-clients and countless other Maryland survivors. Survivors Stories: At The Crossroads of Justice, a short documentary featuring the voices of several survivors and their advocates, also debuts at the briefing.  

The Maryland legislature passed the CVA in 2023, overcoming intense opposition from the Catholic Church and other groups accused of enabling and/or facilitating childhood sexual abuse, to ensure justice for all Maryland childhood sexual abuse survivors, regardless of how much time has passed since their abuse occurred.

The attorneys were joined by survivors who are also plaintiffs in pending litigation against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, legislative leaders, and advocates, including David Lorenz of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and others who have battled for years to obtain the full measure of justice and accountability for survivors.

According to researchers, countless children have been sexually abused– injured physically and emotionally – by adults and institutions they trusted, with no legal recourse. To the survivors – many now elderly, unable to come forward for decades after their horrific abuse – the CVA is a beacon of hope that represents their last chance for justice after a lifetime of dislocation and suffering.

“Upholding the General Assembly’s constitutional authority to pass the CVA is central to ensuring that all survivors of childhood sexual abuse can have what a just society owes them – their day in court,” said the legal team. “Maryland lawmakers methodically designed the CVA, guided by legal scholars and experts in childhood sexual abuse, to address a profound injustice that has largely silenced our state’s survivors. Many survivors were groomed then victimized as vulnerable children by assailants in the private and public sectors, including clergy, school teachers, detention facility workers, and others. We are hopeful, based on the comprehensive, fact-based record that the Maryland Supreme Court will uphold the constitutionality of this vital legislation.”

Cate Stetson, co-director of the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice at Hogan Lovells US LLP, will present oral argument for some of the Plaintiffs on September 10. She stated, “We are proud to stand alongside Ms. Bunker and all survivors who deserve and are undeniably entitled to justice.”

The Maryland Attorney General filed a brief supporting the constitutionality of the CVA, and will participate in oral argument. The legislature passed the CVA largely in response to revelations by the Attorney General’s office about the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s cover-up of hundreds of instances of sexual abuse spanning decades. In addition, several organizations filed amicus briefs by leading civil and children’s rights organizations (Human Rights for Kids, American Association for Justice, Public Justice, the Maryland Association for Justice, Child USA, Change The Conversation, and the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center).

The CVA repealed the state’s long-standing, restrictive statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, entitling them to a jury trial and possible restitution from their abusers and enablers. Named defendants, including the Archdiocese of Washington and Key School, argue that the new law should be overturned because it violates the Maryland Constitution’s due process provision by reviving claims that were time-barred under prior state law. 

At least 30 U.S. states and territories have also passed similar laws to revive claims of childhood sexual abuse. “Like legislatures across the country, the Maryland General Assembly was well within its power to serve the compelling interest in justice for victims of sexual abuse when it passed the CVA. Without the CVA, victims and the public would be forced to bear these psychological and financial hardships on their own, while abusers and institutional enablers get a free pass for their decades-long misconduct and suppression of the truth,” the legal team added. 

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Contacts:

Steven J. Kelly, Grant & Eisenhofer: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 410-204-4528
Robert K. Jenner, Jenner Law: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 410-413-2155
Phil Federico, Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 410-421-7777

For additional background: https://www.survivorsadvisoryboard.com/