Fr. Wilson points out over at Off the Record that a Supreme Court ruling has said that legislatures cannot retroactively change the statute of limitations. That would see mto make sense considering that the Constitution forbids retroactive punishments.
It has big implications for the Scandal since already it voids California’s recent law and renders moot a whole bunch of lawsuits filed against the Church. I’m all for justice and recompense, but there has to be some limits. Filing a lawsuit based on a four-decade-old allegation when the principle alleged abuser is dead and there’s only the victim’s testimony to back it up seems to push the boundaries too far. (That’s an actual case by the way.)
[Update]: Joe tells me in the comments that the case only applies to criminal prosecution and not civil lawsuits. It still has ramifications for the Scandal, just not the ones I mentioned.
Thanks for clearing that up Joe.
I would think that the same legal challenge could be made to the Supreme court for civil cases and it would win based on the same arguments.