Law to Keep Priests’ Cases Alive Is Signed

Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill Thursday that will prevent legal deadlines from running out in scores of molestation cases involving Los Angeles-area priests.

The legislation freezes the one-year statute of limitations in those cases until the courts decide if the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles must release to prosecutors 2,000 pages of documents subpoenaed by a grand jury.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, fearing that more than 100 priests and former clerics under investigation might go free, proposed the legislation. Under the old law, the statute of limitations on the first of the priest cases would have expired next week.

“When a person abuses a child, that child deserves to have the justice system work for them, not against them,” Davis said in a written statement. “This measure will prevent child abusers from getting off on a technicality.”

The archdiocese didn’t take a position on the bill.

“This is a significant step in protecting children from further sexual violence,” said Raymond P. Boucher, a Beverly Hills attorney who lobbied for the bill. His firm represents about 200 clients who allege sexual abuse by priests. “It’s another blow to the stalling strategy of the church.”

“The archdiocese is chiefly concerned with protecting children from sexual abuse,” said Tod M. Tamberg, a spokesman for the diocese. “There is no priest in ministry that we know of who has abused a child. Our churches and schools are safe. For the D.A. and others to suggest that we are somehow endangering children unless we ignore due legal processes and constitutional protections surrounding some documents in cases 20, 30 and 40 years old is grossly irresponsible and untrue.”

The legislation, which was passed unanimously by state lawmakers, modifies a 1994 California law that allows authorities to prosecute alleged sexual abusers no matter how old the crimes. But charges must be filed within one year of the victim’s reporting the incidents to authorities.

Another legal test for prosecutors will be a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected soon on the constitutionality of the California law that allows the prosecution of decades-old sex crimes. The court heard oral arguments on the case this week.

The Supreme Court’s decision could force the district attorney’s office to drop the vast majority of its investigations in the clergy cases if the court believes too much time has elapsed since the alleged incidents.