We need constituents of the following NY Senators to contact the Senators below and ask for support for the Child Victims Act!
If you are a constituent, please send the message below If you KNOW a NY constituent, please forward this message.
Dear Senator ____:
I am a constituent and I am writing to ask you to support the Child Victims Act.
It poses a simple choice: protect children or shield child predators?
Support of the CVA will protect New York’s children! Opposition to the CVA lets predatorscontinue to have the secrecy they use to find more victims. Please protect our kids.
Thanks!
New York State Senate – Republican Senators are Highest Priority To Contact to Support the Child Victims Act of NY A1771, S3809
1st SD Kenneth P. LaValle (R)
Counties: Hampton Bays, Montauk
District: 28 North Country Rd Suite 203, Mount Sinai, NY 11766
Counties: Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties, and a portion of Tompkins County (the city and town of Ithaca, and the towns of Enfield, Newfield and Ulysses).
District:333 East Water Street (3rd Floor, Suite 301) Elmira, NY 14901
(P) 607-735-9671
(F) 607-735-9675
Albany: Legislative Office Building Room 812, Albany, NY 12247
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-05-08 15:58:422013-05-08 15:58:42NY High Priority Senators to Contact to Support the CVA!
Under current law there is a six-year statute of limitations on filing lawsuits seeking financial damages for sex abuse claims. The new bill, authored by DFL Rep. Steve Simon, would eliminate that constraint when the victim is under 18. Simon’s bill passed off the floor on a 115-7 vote.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-05-07 23:44:422013-05-07 23:44:42Child sex abuse liability bill clears the House
BOSTON (AP) — An attorney who helped lead an $85 million child sexual abuse settlement against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston before revealing that he had been a victim of child molestation urged state lawmakers to raise the statute of limitations on sex-abuse lawsuits.
The measure, heard Tuesday by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, would give victims until age 55 to file civil claims against their alleged attackers. Under current Massachusetts law, most victims have only until age 21 to bring civil lawsuits, according to backers of the legislation.
‘‘It’s not going to be complete justice, there will never be complete justice,’’ attorney Eric MacLeish said before meeting with lawmakers.
‘‘But this bill will be so helpful for so many people and I would like to think that it could have been helpful to me,’’ he said, adding that he would argue for the bill from both the standpoint of a lawyer and abuse victim.
MacLeish brought a picture showing himself at age 9 with classmates at a boarding school in England, where he said he was sexually abused by a teacher.
MacLeish was among the lawyers in the landmark 2003 clergy abuse case that led to compensation for hundreds of people who said they were abused by priests as children. Yet during that time, he did not reveal his own grim experiences.
‘‘Even though I knew I was a tough advocate for people who had been sexually abused … the most terrifying thing for me, that I never spoke about, was going back and confronting the people who had molested me,’’ he said.
After the settlement with the church, MacLeish suffered post-traumatic stress brought on by years of dealing with the stories of others who had been sexually abused, he said. He was haunted in particular by the case of one client who had been raped as a 9-year-old boy.
MacLeish gave up his law practice, got divorced and suffered flashbacks, nausea and insomnia.
An exception to current Massachusetts law allows people over the age of 21 to sue their alleged abusers if a claim is filed within three years of the time they first realize that they had been harmed by past abuse.
MacLeish said in his case, he had never repressed the memories of abuse, even recalling details as vivid as the pattern of the wallpaper in the room where he had been molested.
‘‘I never forgot it, but I was never able to deal with it,’’ he said. ‘‘I was afraid to go there. I thought that if I did I would become unraveled. My elixir, my medication, was representing abuse victims and trying to save people.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, another Boston attorney who advocates for abuse victims, said raising to 55 the age up until which a person can file claims would recognize the difficulty many people have confronting the trauma until well into adulthood.
‘‘Even if a person realizes they were abused and it caused them problems, they still might not have the coping mechanism to call someone up and say, ‘I’ll have to do something about this.’’’ Garabedian said. ‘‘I have clients in their 80s who have been carrying abuse around for 75 years.’’
Those skeptical of raising the statute of limitations say the long passages of time, scarcity of witnesses and sometimes vague recollections of events can make it difficult for the accused to get a fair hearing.
Marci Hamilton, a law professor at Yeshiva University who specializes in child sex-abuse statutes of limitations and supports the Massachusetts bill, said several other states, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, are considering similar legislation.
View Source:
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-05-07 20:08:052013-05-08 16:10:54Hearing today in Boston on SOL Reform
The damaging effects of some crimes linger for decades. Some damage lives permanently.
Among the inexplicable quirks of the law is the presumption that ruining a life with childhood sexual abuse is a crime with an expiration date on it.
Statutes of limitations are designed to trade justice for the orderly and convenient operation of the legal system. The evidence of the last two decades regarding child sex abuse proves how unsatisfactory that view is.
The damage of this heinous crime normally lingers forever. But the crime is treated as if it’s an embezzlement that the perpetrator managed to beat by hiding from evidence and counting on the victim’s silence for protection.
But legislation pending in the General Assembly would end that pretense. Senate Bill 1399, which has passed the Senate and is before the House, removes deadlines for victims of childhood sexual abuse to seek civil redress in court.
The current 20-year limit is artificial and barely gets most victims to a point in life when they can overcome, or at least cope effectively, with the traumatic experience, which can be repressed in their memory.
Legal scholars hail ending statutes of limitation as a dynamic tool to fight sexual predators, who are often family members who spend years tormenting victims and keeping the crime hidden in shadows. Historically, 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims never report the crime, and a large percentage of lawsuits perish under time restraints before they can reach court.
Preying on children has become an epidemic that needs direct legal remedy. Eight states have passed laws similar to SB 1399 and more are in the pipeline.
Luckily, most state legislatures are choosing to act in the best interest of the children. Marci Hamilton, chairman in public policy at Yeshiva University’s law school in New York City, is the predominant authority on the topic and describes SB 1399 as a “sunshine law for children.”
We agree. The bill makes sense and provides justice.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-05-05 20:55:352013-05-05 20:55:35Herald News Sun Time Op Ed in Favor of Illnois Elimination!
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-05-04 17:50:242013-05-04 17:50:24Recent CA decision upholding equitable estoppel against SOL defense.
Please contact the members below and ask them for justice for child sex abuse victims by voting YES for HB 1399 in the Judiciary Committee this Wednesday. Please make contact again even if you have done so already.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-05-04 17:42:392013-05-04 17:42:39New Action Alert for IL bill that eliminates civil SOL
NY High Priority Senators to Contact to Support the CVA!
/in New York /by SOL ReformNew York State Senate – Republican Senators are Highest Priority To Contact to Support the Child Victims Act of NY A1771, S3809
1st SD Kenneth P. LaValle (R)
Counties: Hampton Bays, Montauk
District: 28 North Country Rd Suite 203, Mount Sinai, NY 11766
(P) 631-473-1461
(F) 631-473-1513
Albany: LOB 806, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3121
(F) 518-426-6826
Email: lavalle@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
2nd SD John J. Flanagan (R) CODES
Counties: Entire Town of Smithtown and portions of both the Town of Brookhaven and the Town of Huntington
District: 260 Middle Country Road Suite 102, Smithtown, NY 11787
(P) 631-361-2154
(F) 631-361-5367
Albany: LOB 805, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-2071
(F) 518-426-6904
Email: flanagan@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
3rd SD Lee Zeldin (R)
Counties: Parts of Suffolk
District: 4155 Veterans Highway, Suite 5, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
(P) 631-585-0608
(F) 631-585-0858
Albany: LOB 802, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3570
(F) 518-426-6741
Email: zeldin@nysenate.gov
4thSD Philip M. Boyle (R) CODES
Counties: Babylon, Bay Shore
District: 23 Argyle Square, Babylon, NY 11702
(P) 631-669-9200
(F) 631-585-0858
Albany: LOB 814, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3411
(F) 518-426-6973
Email: pboyle@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
5th SD Carl L. Marcellino (R)
Counties: Oyster Bay, Syosset, Huntington, Jericho, Glen Cove
District: 250 Townsend Square, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
(P) 516-922-1811
(F) 516-922-1154
Albany: LOB 811, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-2390
(F) 518-426-6975
Email: marcelli@senate.state.ny.us
________________________________________________________________________
6th SD Kemp Hannon (R)
Counties: central communities of Nassau County
District: 595 Stewart Ave. Suite, 540, Garden City, NY 11530
(P) 516-739-1700
(F) 516-747-7430
Albany: The Capital Room 420, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-488-2200
Email: hannon@nysenate.gov
7th SD Jack Martins (R)
Counties: Mineola, Port Washington, Roslyn, Westbury, and parts of Floral Park.
District: 151 Herricks Road, Suite 202, Garden City Park, NY 11040
(P) 516-746-5924
(F) 516-746-0439
Albany: LOB 946, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3265
(F) 518-426-6739
Email: martins@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
8th SD Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. (R) CODES
Counties: portions of the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County and a portion of the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County.
District: 5550 Merrick Road, Suite 205, Massapequa NY 11758
(P) 518-455-3341 (F) 518-426-6823
Albany: LOB 609, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 516-882-0630
(F) 516-882-0636
Email: fuschill@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
9th SD Dean G. Skelos (R)
Counties: Parts of Valley Stream, Rockville Center, and Oceanside
District: 55 Front Street, Rockville Center, NY 11570
(P) 516-766-8383
(F) 516-766-8011
Albany: LOB 909, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3171
(F) 518-426-6950
Email: skelos@nysenate.gov
22nd SD Martin J. Golden (R) CODES
Counties: Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend and parts of Sheepshead Bay, Borough Park and Midwood
District: 7408 5th Avenue 1st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11209
(P) 718-238-6044
(F) 718-238-6170
Albany: LOB 409, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-2730
(F) 518-426-6910
Email: golden@nysenate.gov
______________________________________________________________________
24th SD Andrew J. Lanza (R) CODES
Counties: Richmond County
District: 3845 Richmond Ave. Suite 2A, Staten Island, NY 10312
(P) 718-984-4073
(F) 718-984-4455
Albany: LOB 915, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3215
(F) 518-426-6852
Email: lanza@senate.state.ny.us
________________________________________________________________________
39th SD William J. Larkin, Jr. (R)
Counties: Orange County
District: 1093 Little Britain Road, New Windsor, NY 12553
(P) 845-567-1270 (F) 845-567-1276
Albany: 188 State Street Room 502, Senate Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518- 455-2770
(F) 518-426-6923
Email: larkin@senate.state.ny.us
40th SD Greg Ball (R)
Counties: Brewster
District: 1441 Route 22 Suite 205, Brewster, NY 10509
(P) 845- 279-3773 (F) 845- 279-7156
Albany: LOB 817, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518- 455-3111
(F) 518- 426-6977
Email: gball@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
42nd SD John J. Bonacic (R)
Counties: Sullivan County, ten towns and two cities in Orange County, six towns in Ulster County, and five towns in Delaware County.
District: 201 Dolson Avenue Suite F, Middletown, NY 10940
(P) 845-344-3311 (F) 845-344-3328
Albany: 188 State Street Room 509 LOB Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-3181
(F) 518-426-6948
Email: bonacic@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
43rd SD Kathleen A. Marchione (R)
Counties: Parts of Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington Counties, and all of Columbia County.
District: 2 Halfmoon Town Plaza, Halfmoon, NY 12065
(P) 518-371-2751
(F) 518-371-2753
Albany: 306 LOB, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-2381
(F) 518-426-6985
Email: marchione@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
45th SD Elizabeth O’C. Little (R)
Counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren and Washington Counties
District: 5 Warren Street Suite 3, Glens Falls, NY 12801
(P) 518-743-0968
(F) 518-743-0336
Albany: 188 State Street Room 310, LOB, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-2811
(F) 518-426-6873
Email: little@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
47th SD Joseph A. Griffo (R)
Counties: Oneida, Lewis and St. Lawrence
District: 207 Genesee Street Room 408, Utica, NY 13501
(P) 315 793-9072 (F) 315 793-0298
Albany: 188 State Street Room 612, LOB, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-3334 (F) 518 426-6921
Email: griffo@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
48th SD Patty Ritchie (R)
Counties: Oswego, Ogdensburg and Watertown
District: Dulles State Office Building, Room 418, Watertown, NY 13601
(P) 315-782-3418 (F) 315-782-6357
Albany: LOB 412, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3438 (F) 518-426-6740
Email: ritchie@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
49th SD Hugh Farley (R)
Counties: Schenectady
District: 199 Milton Avenue Suite 4, Ballston Spa, NY 12020
(P) 518 885-1829
(F) 518 885-1970
Albany: 188 State Street Room 711, LOB, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-2181
(F) 518 455-2271
Email: Farley@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
50th SD John A. Defrancisco (R) CODES
Counties: Syracuse
District: 333 East Washington Street 800 State Office Building, Syracuse, NY 13202
(P) 315-428-7632 (F) 315-472-4157
Albany: 416 Capitol, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3511 (F) 518-426-6952
Email: jdefranc@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
51st SD James Seward (R)
Counties: Otsego County
District: 41 So. Main Street, Oneonta, NY 13820
(P) 607-432-5524
(F) 607-432-4281
Albany: 172 State Street Room 430, Capitol, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-3131
(F) 518-455-3123
Email: seward@nysenate.gov
52nd SD Thomas W. Libous (R)
Counties: Binghamton
District: 44 Hawley St Rm 1607, Binghamton, NY 13901
(P) 877-854-2687
(F) 877-773-3688
Albany: 429 Capitol, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-2677
(F) 518-455-2065
Email: senator@senatorlibous.com
________________________________________________________________________
54th Micahel F. Nozzolio (R) CODES
Counties: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne Counties
District: 119 Fall Street, Seneca Falls, NY 13148
(P) 315 568-9816
(F) 315 568-2090
Albany: 188 State Street, Room 503, Capitol Building,Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-2366
(F) 518 426-6953
Email: nozzolio@senate.state.ny.us
________________________________________________________________________
56th SD Joseph E. Robach (R)
Counties: Rochester
District: 2300 W. Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14626
(P) 585 225-3650
(F) 585-225-3661
Albany: 188 State Street Room 803, LOB, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-2909 (F) 518-426-6938
Email: robach@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
57th Catharine M. Young (R)
Counties: Jamestown, Olean
District: Westgate Plaza 700 W. State Street, Olean, NY 14760
(P) 716 372-4901
(F) 716 372-5740
Albany: 188 State Street Room 307 LOB, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518 455-3563
(F) 518 426-6905
Email: cyoung@senate.state.ny.us
________________________________________________________________________
58th SD Thomas F. O’Mara (R) CODES
Counties: Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties, and a portion of Tompkins County (the city and town of Ithaca, and the towns of Enfield, Newfield and Ulysses).
District: 333 East Water Street (3rd Floor, Suite 301) Elmira, NY 14901
(P) 607-735-9671
(F) 607-735-9675
Albany: Legislative Office Building Room 812, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-2091
(F) 518-426-6976
Email address: omara@nysenate.gov
________________________________________________________________________
59th SD Patrick Gallivan (R) CODES
Counties: Warsaw, Geneseo and Elma
District: 2721 Transit Road Suite 116, Elma, NY 14059
(P) 716-656-8544
(F) 716-656-8961
Albany: LOB 947, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3471
(F) 518-426-6949
Email: gallivan@nysenate.gov
60th SD Mark Grisanti (R)
Counties: Grand Island, Kenmore, Lake View and Orchard Park.
District: 65 Court Street Room 213, Buffalo, NY 14202
(P) 716-854-8705 (F) 716-854-3051
Albany: LOB 902, Albany, NY 12247
(P) 518-455-3240 (F) 518-426-6738
Email: grisanti@nysenate.gov
Child sex abuse liability bill clears the House
/in Minnesota /by SOL ReformChild sex abuse liability bill clears the House
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: May 1,2013
Time posted: 4:59 pm
Tags: child sex abuse, Mary Liz Holberg, Ron Latz, Steve Simon
Under current law there is a six-year statute of limitations on filing lawsuits seeking financial damages for sex abuse claims. The new bill, authored by DFL Rep. Steve Simon, would eliminate that constraint when the victim is under 18. Simon’s bill passed off the floor on a 115-7 vote.
Read more: http://politicsinminnesota.com/2013/05/child-sex-abuse-liability-bill-clears-the-house/#ixzz2SeaCgaXe
Hearing today in Boston on SOL Reform
/in Massachusetts /by SOL ReformBOSTON (AP) — An attorney who helped lead an $85 million child sexual abuse settlement against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston before revealing that he had been a victim of child molestation urged state lawmakers to raise the statute of limitations on sex-abuse lawsuits.
The measure, heard Tuesday by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, would give victims until age 55 to file civil claims against their alleged attackers. Under current Massachusetts law, most victims have only until age 21 to bring civil lawsuits, according to backers of the legislation.
‘‘It’s not going to be complete justice, there will never be complete justice,’’ attorney Eric MacLeish said before meeting with lawmakers.
‘‘But this bill will be so helpful for so many people and I would like to think that it could have been helpful to me,’’ he said, adding that he would argue for the bill from both the standpoint of a lawyer and abuse victim.
MacLeish brought a picture showing himself at age 9 with classmates at a boarding school in England, where he said he was sexually abused by a teacher.
MacLeish was among the lawyers in the landmark 2003 clergy abuse case that led to compensation for hundreds of people who said they were abused by priests as children. Yet during that time, he did not reveal his own grim experiences.
‘‘Even though I knew I was a tough advocate for people who had been sexually abused … the most terrifying thing for me, that I never spoke about, was going back and confronting the people who had molested me,’’ he said.
After the settlement with the church, MacLeish suffered post-traumatic stress brought on by years of dealing with the stories of others who had been sexually abused, he said. He was haunted in particular by the case of one client who had been raped as a 9-year-old boy.
MacLeish gave up his law practice, got divorced and suffered flashbacks, nausea and insomnia.
An exception to current Massachusetts law allows people over the age of 21 to sue their alleged abusers if a claim is filed within three years of the time they first realize that they had been harmed by past abuse.
MacLeish said in his case, he had never repressed the memories of abuse, even recalling details as vivid as the pattern of the wallpaper in the room where he had been molested.
‘‘I never forgot it, but I was never able to deal with it,’’ he said. ‘‘I was afraid to go there. I thought that if I did I would become unraveled. My elixir, my medication, was representing abuse victims and trying to save people.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, another Boston attorney who advocates for abuse victims, said raising to 55 the age up until which a person can file claims would recognize the difficulty many people have confronting the trauma until well into adulthood.
‘‘Even if a person realizes they were abused and it caused them problems, they still might not have the coping mechanism to call someone up and say, ‘I’ll have to do something about this.’’’ Garabedian said. ‘‘I have clients in their 80s who have been carrying abuse around for 75 years.’’
Those skeptical of raising the statute of limitations say the long passages of time, scarcity of witnesses and sometimes vague recollections of events can make it difficult for the accused to get a fair hearing.
Marci Hamilton, a law professor at Yeshiva University who specializes in child sex-abuse statutes of limitations and supports the Massachusetts bill, said several other states, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, are considering similar legislation.
View Source:
Herald News Sun Time Op Ed in Favor of Illnois Elimination!
/in Illinois /by SOL ReformThe damaging effects of some crimes linger for decades. Some damage lives permanently.
Among the inexplicable quirks of the law is the presumption that ruining a life with childhood sexual abuse is a crime with an expiration date on it.
Statutes of limitations are designed to trade justice for the orderly and convenient operation of the legal system. The evidence of the last two decades regarding child sex abuse proves how unsatisfactory that view is.
The damage of this heinous crime normally lingers forever. But the crime is treated as if it’s an embezzlement that the perpetrator managed to beat by hiding from evidence and counting on the victim’s silence for protection.
But legislation pending in the General Assembly would end that pretense. Senate Bill 1399, which has passed the Senate and is before the House, removes deadlines for victims of childhood sexual abuse to seek civil redress in court.
The current 20-year limit is artificial and barely gets most victims to a point in life when they can overcome, or at least cope effectively, with the traumatic experience, which can be repressed in their memory.
Legal scholars hail ending statutes of limitation as a dynamic tool to fight sexual predators, who are often family members who spend years tormenting victims and keeping the crime hidden in shadows. Historically, 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims never report the crime, and a large percentage of lawsuits perish under time restraints before they can reach court.
Preying on children has become an epidemic that needs direct legal remedy. Eight states have passed laws similar to SB 1399 and more are in the pipeline.
We agree. The bill makes sense and provides justice.
View/Print Story as PDF
Recent CA decision upholding equitable estoppel against SOL defense.
/in California /by SOL ReformView Horne (Father Joseph Patrick McCabe) 15 page ORDER Re D Demurrer to P TAC as PDF
New Action Alert for IL bill that eliminates civil SOL
/in Illinois /by SOL Reform