Authors in Action: Reclaiming Justice Denied

Marci Hamilton of the Cardozo School of Law has joined forces with the Stop Abuse Campaign to promote the passage of the Child Victims Act of New York (A02596) before the end of the state’s session in June.

A leading constitutional law scholar specializing in church/state issues, Hamilton sounds a clarion call for incest/family victims to organize in their push to raise awareness of the CVA. Her book, Justice Denied: What America Must Do To Protect Its Children, has proven a source of inspiration – providing a platform pushing to end arbitrary statutes of limitation for childhood sexual abuse, and allowing survivors past and present to have their day in court. Part of the problem, Hamilton argues, is the presence of formidable opponents to the bill – the insurance industry, the higher-ups of the Roman Catholic Church – as recently addressed in an editorial by the staff of the New York Times last Sunday.

What does the bill actually say and where does the Times Editorial stand and how can you find out more on the Stop Abuse Campaign?

Former Rep. Mark Foley Off the Hook

Marci Hamilton The AP reported Friday that former Congressman Mark Foley, who was accused in 2006 of sending sexually suggestive email messages to underage congressional pages will not be prosecuted in part because Florida’s statute of limitations on such crimes is a mere 3 years. The vast majority of child victims do not come forward [...]

A Charge of Double-Betrayal in Williamsburg

Marci Hamilton has fought for the abolishment of statutes of limitations [SOL] pertaining to childhood sexual abuse. The SOLs limit the time that the abused have to take an abuser to court. They usually expire before people molested as children are ready to talk about what happened. This hit close to home recently, as Jewish [...]

Marci Hamilton on Faith Matters

ABC News Faith Matters Marci Hamilton and Mark Chopko Justice Denied author Marci Hamilton debates Mark Chopko, Attorney of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops on civil Statues of Limitations — the focus of her book. Click the image to watch! Link opens in a new window.

The State of SOL Reform

Pennsylvania is the latest battleground in the reform of Statutes of Limitations for child abusers. Read her on FindLaw every Thursday Marci Hamilton There is a national grassroots movement to eliminate the civil and criminal statutes of limitations (SOLs) on child sex abuse. Why? Because survivors of such abuse typically take decades to come forward. [...]