Friday, June 16, 2006
LA archdiocese gets creative in defending priest abuse case
The Associated Press reported June 9th that
"Intervened" is a bit ambiguous here. As a legal term, it would have meant Cardinal Mahony asked that the Archdiocese be made a party to the case. That isn't what the article means.
From this article, it appears California law and procedure is like Wisconsin's. Routine decisions of the intermediate appellate court are usually not published. Only published decisions can be cited in other cases as precedent requiring courts in that jurisdiction to decide the same or similar issues the same way.
There's no indication it's unethical, but it certainly comes across as hardball.
(via comment by Clayton at Open Book) ¶ 6/16/2006 08:31:00 AM
[Los Angeles Archbishop Cardinal Roger] Mahony intervened in March in a civil suit alleging several former Los Angeles police Explorer Scouts were molested in the late 1970s by the department's highest-ranking openly gay officer, Deputy Chief David Kalish. The plaintiffs said the department should have known about the alleged conduct. ...
"Intervened" is a bit ambiguous here. As a legal term, it would have meant Cardinal Mahony asked that the Archdiocese be made a party to the case. That isn't what the article means.
In the civil case, Kalish's lawyer argued that state law required the Explorers to show specific sexual misconduct before the LAPD could be forced to open its files. A California appellate court agreed and on Feb. 24 dismissed the LAPD as a defendant.Mahony's lawyer on March 3 asked the court to publish the decision, which would make it apply to other cases and not just the suit against Kalish, the paper reported. The court did so four days later.
From this article, it appears California law and procedure is like Wisconsin's. Routine decisions of the intermediate appellate court are usually not published. Only published decisions can be cited in other cases as precedent requiring courts in that jurisdiction to decide the same or similar issues the same way.
Now Raymond P. Boucher, an attorney for many of the church's accusers, has asked the California Supreme Court to depublish the ruling on the grounds that it would deny victims their day in court, the Times reported. ..."I thought it was underhanded for the archdiocese to surreptitiously send that letter and never give us an opportunity to respond," Boucher told the newspaper.
There's no indication it's unethical, but it certainly comes across as hardball.
J. Michael Hennigan, the cardinal's lawyer, and Tod Tamburg, Mahony's spokesman, declined to comment Thursday to the [LA] Times.
(via comment by Clayton at Open Book) ¶ 6/16/2006 08:31:00 AM
