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Law Court invites amicus briefs regarding the constitutionality and application of 2021 legislation removing the statute of limitations for "actions based on sexual acts toward minors"
Date: 6/23/2023
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, invites briefs of amici curiae in the matter of Robert E. Dupuis et al. v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, Law Court docket number BCD-23-122. The trial court reported to the Law Court its interlocutory ruling denying the Bishop's motions to dismiss or for judgments on the pleadings in actions by Robert Dupuis and twelve other individuals who claim that they were victims of sexual acts committed by adults serving as priests, as clergy, as lay educators, or in other roles within the Bishops parishes. The Bishop claimed that 2021 legislation removing the statute of limitations for "actions based upon sexual acts toward minors" is unconstitutional when applied to claims for which the previous limitations period had already expired by the time the legislation took effect and that the legislation applies only to actions against individuals and not to actions against other entities.
The Court invites amicus briefs on the issues presented in the report from the trial court.
The trial courts orders and all documents filed in or issued by the Law Court are available on the high-profile-case page of the Courts website at https://www.courts.maine.gov/news/dupuis/. Additional documents will be added to that webpage as they are filed or issued.
An amicus brief may be filed by or on behalf of any individual, entity, or group of individuals and/or entities without separate leave of the Court. Any amicus brief must comply with M.R. App. P. 7A and must be filed on or before September 18, 2023, at the address listed below. In addition to filing and serving the required number of copies, any amicus filing a brief must send a copy of the brief electronically, as a single native or text-based .pdf file, to the Clerk of the Law Court at lawcourt.clerk@courts.maine.gov.
Dated: June 23, 2023
Matthew Pollack
Clerk of the Law Court
205 Newbury Street Room 139
Portland, Maine 04101
(207) 822-4146
lawcourt.clerk@courts.maine.gov