BishopAccountability.org
	Abuse Victims Lament Ninth Circuit Decision Favoring Secrecy By Jeff Dion Voice from the Desert November 9, 2011 http://reform-network.net/ Judges conceal sex-abuse allegations against priests without considering public interest arguments Two victim advocacy groups are shocked that a panel of federal judges allowed child sex-abuse allegations to be concealed from the public without considering the views of victims and newspapers who opposed secrecy. "We're distraught about both the process and the outcome here," Jeff Dion, Deputy Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, said today in response to a final ruling in the case. "This is a departure from the trend in our nation's justice system to consider the views of crime victims." The ruling was requested by two anonymous priests in Portland, Ore., calling themselves "Father M" and "Father D," who asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to prevent the public from learning about allegations that they sexually abused children. The allegations were filed in bankruptcy court in connection with victims' tort claims against the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, which sought bankruptcy protection largely due to legal costs arising from clergy sex abuse. The National Center for Victims of Crime based in Washington, D.C., and the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) based in Chicago IL, were joined by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington as "friends of the court" advocating for the public's right to know about credible allegations of clergy sex abuse. However, the Ninth Circuit reversed most of the bankruptcy court's order for disclosure without ever considering the public-interest arguments of victims and newspapers. "The court did not even acknowledge our 15-page amicus brief," said David Clohessy, director of SNAP. "And the court erred on the side of protecting credibly accused priests instead of protecting vulnerable kids and helping wounded abuse victims." Leaders of SNAP, the National Center for Victims of Crime and the newspaper groups are disappointed and surprised that the Ninth Circuit never ruled on their motion to consider their views, even after tort claimants pointed out, in a petition for rehearing of the initial order in September, that the motion was still awaiting action. On Monday, the Ninth Circuit issued a final amended ruling in which it held that bankruptcy records concerning sex-abuse allegations fall under the "scandalous" exception to openness. The final ruling denied the rehearing petition and still did not address the arguments of sex-abuse victims and newspapers that secrecy is against the public interest. "Washington and Oregon newspapers speak for the public interest when they advocate for open courts," said Bill Will, executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. "Here, there was a balancing test which weighed the priests' interests in secrecy against the public's interest in learning about how the Archdiocese and the bankruptcy court handled sex abuse allegations. It is remarkable that the Ninth Circuit applied that test without actually considering the arguments made on the public's behalf." The SNAP director, Mr. Clohessy said, "Ruling in favor of secrecy and against openness in child sex cases definitely contradicts a widespread and growing trend towards openness in such cases." The victim and newspaper groups are represented by Seattle attorney Katherine A. George, who can be reached at 425 802-1052 or kgeorge@hbslegal.com Contact: jdion@ncvc.org
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.