Harrisburg, Pa., Jun 27, 2018 / 15:01 pm
In a unanimous opinion released Monday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania supported and explained its earlier decision to hold the publication of a grand jury report detailing years of clergy sexual abuse in the state.
In the five-page June 25 opinion, the court said the request for the stay was made by "many individuals" named in the report, most of whom had cited concerns of due process and reputational rights guaranteed by the state constitution.
"Most, if not all, of the petitioners alleged that they are named or identified in (the grand jury report) in a way that unconstitutionally infringes on their right to reputation and denies them due process based upon the lack of a pre-deprivation hearing and/or an opportunity to be heard by the grand jury," the opinion states.
The stay, ordered by the court on June 20, indefinitely delays the release of a report that has been more than two years in the making, during which time victims have recounted incidents of past clergy sexual abuse to a Grand Jury.