{"id":52399,"date":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/supreme\/legal-commentary\/justice-denied-what-america-must-do-to-protect-its-children.html"},"modified":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","slug":"justice-denied-what-america-must-do-to-protect-its-children","status":"publish","type":"supreme","link":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-commentary\/justice-denied-what-america-must-do-to-protect-its-children.html","title":{"rendered":"Justice Denied: What America Must Do To Protect Its Children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849  fl-block-columns fl-sectionWithSidebar fl-container fl-flex fl-flex-wrap fl-gap30\">\n    \n    <div class=\"fl-page-articles   fl-block-column fl-section-main fl-section-main-full-width\">\n        <div class=\"yui-g\" id=\"leftcol-module\">\n      <!-- Right Line of Links Section -->\n      <!-- BEGIN PICTURE INSERTION -->\n      \n      <!-- BEGIN TITLE AND AUTHOR INSERTION -->\n      <table>\n        <tr>\n\n          <td width=\"100\" rowspan=\"3\" class=\"wiauthor\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://supreme.findlaw.com/static/c/images\/image\/upload\/ability-legal\/wp-prod\/legal-commentary-images-illustrations-justicedenied.png\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n          <td class=\"wititle\"><h1>A Review of Marci Hamilton&#8217;s <i>Justice Denied: What America Must Do To Protect Its Children<\/i><\/h1><\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td class=\"wiauthor\"><a href=\"#bio\" class=\"graybold\"><h2>By THOMAS P. DOYLE, J.C.D., C.A.D.C. <\/h2><br><\/a><\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td class=\"widate\">Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2008<\/td>\n\n        <\/tr>\n      <\/table>\n<span class=\"smalltext\">\n<p>The  latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a remarkable surge of concern  for the rights and welfare of children.  Parallel to this concern there has been unprecedented scholarly activity  into the history of this subject. Though  not as extensive as one would expect, the scholarship has revealed that  children\u2019s rights and the very comprehension of the emotional, psychological  and moral development of the child has been severely limited. The innocence of  children and young adolescents was not presumed, in fact there is evidence that  the canonists, perhaps the most significant group of lawyers in the middle  ages, presumed that children and minors were always prone to do wrong.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref1\"><sup>1<\/sup> <\/a> <\/p> \n<\/span>\n\n<span class=\"smalltext\">\n<!-- START TABLE FOR RELATED -->\n<div id=\"writthreetwenty\"><script language=\"Javascript\">dart_call(\"300x250\", \"ptile=2\", 0);<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<!-- END TABLE FOR RELATED -->\n<p>Western society  looks with pride on the many sources of proof that we are indeed enlightened  about children and do, in fact, put into practice the often heard saying that  \u201cChildren are our most important resource because they are our future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n<p> Marci Hamilton has shared her  intense and vast experience in working for children\u2019s rights in a book that  makes clear that in spite of our society\u2019s sense of self-satisfaction, in some  ways we have not advanced that far from the middle ages. <u><i>Justice Denied<\/i><\/u> is about one of the  most horrendous offenses against children short of murder: child sexual  abuse. It is about the chasm that exists  between the lofty sentiments expressed by civil and religious leaders when it  comes to the rights of children, and the dark reality of a court system that  still reflects ignorance about both the devastating nature of sexual abuse and  the compulsive nature of sexual perversity.<\/p>\n   <p><u>Justice Denied<\/u> explores the  most effective roadblock to justice for victims and a surprising enabler for  perpetrators: the Statute of Limitations.  Envisioned as a needed source of protection for the rights of the  accused and an assurance against judgments based on little  or no evidence, the Statute of Limitations has a distinctly opposite effect in  the area of sexual abuse of children. In  most States it ignores the complex effects rape and abuse on children and  minors and the solid body of scientific evidence that tells us that the  majority of victims never publicly disclose (70 percent) and those who do are  often prevented, by their own fears, shame and guilt from coming forward for  years if not decades. In the wake of the  shameful and shocking revelations of widespread sexual abuse by Catholic clergy  (and other clergy as well) over the last two decades of the twentieth century,  serious efforts have been mounted by child welfare advocates and others to  change this destructive loophole and pass laws that would clearly favor present  victims and protect potential future victims by identifying predators who  otherwise would have slipped past the long arm of the law, shielded by an even longer arm of the Statute of  Limitations.<\/p>\n<p> This book is straightforward,  clearly written and its main points are easy to grasp. The author paints a vivid and shocking  picture of child sexual abuse which should disavow the attitudes of those who  think its limited to sinister looking street denizens in dirty trench  coats. The truth is that most abuse is  incestuous with no rigid social profile for the offenders. In other words it could be anyone from an  unemployed lecher to a highly respected professional. Though much of our contemporary scrutiny was  prompted by what appeared to widespread sexual abuse by Catholic clergy,  Professor Hamilton informs us that only 4 percent of all child sexual assault  is committed by Catholic clerics.<\/p>\n<p> Now comes the book\u2019s shocking  revelation: one of the two most vociferous and determined adversaries to any  legislative reform that would protect children and strike fear into the hearts  of predators is the Roman Catholic Church.  The other surprises no one \u2013 the insurance industry. The latter\u2019s mission in life is to make money,  but the Church\u2019s is to help people and they surely are not doing so by throwing  their vast power and resources into burying proposed legislation while at the  same time painting a slanderous image of victims and their supporters. Professor Hamilton devotes two  well-documented and lucidly presented chapters to the concerted efforts of each  to the defeat of the SOL\u2019s. Though one  would probably expect vigorous activity on the part of the insurance industry  because their leaders inaccurately view passage of the envisioned legislation  as a major monetary drain, the focus of the legislation is not faulty  construction of drunk drivers but innocent children! Consequently it is not too much to expect a  higher degree of institutional integrity.<\/p>\n<p> Chapter 6, \u201cBarrier # 2: The  Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church\u201d tells the scandalous story of the  Catholic bishops\u2019 expensive and often underhanded efforts to persuade lawmakers  that proposed changes in the laws will not benefit children, are discriminatory  and pose a threat of financial ruin for the Church. Professor Hamilton clearly shows that in  spite of the fact that the bishops know these claims to be untrue, they  nevertheless seek to impose their will and their agenda on all citizens. Her conclusions are well documented. The most disturbing and even enraging are the  campaigns of the bishops of Ohio and Colorado. In the case of Colorado the bishops reached a moral low by  leveling personal attacks at Catholic legislators who backed legislation: \u201c<em>They read letters denouncing me from the  pulpit&#8230;and what they said was totally untrue.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref1\"><sup>2<\/sup> <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p> There is a chapter on \u201cother  barriers\u201d which includes groups who place their own interests above the welfare  of children. Sadly, but necessarily, the  author includes an \u201cuninformed public\u201d as a major barrier to action and not  just words about protecting children.  The problems with educating the public are often the unrealistic and  even magical images many have of certain private and public institutions,  especially the churches.<\/p>\n<p> The final chapter gives hope for it  speaks of the \u201cComing Civil Rights Movement for Children.\u201d It took the courage and activism of a broad  spectrum of people to make the words of our Declaration of Independence that \u201c<em>All men are created equal\u201d <\/em>a reality in  our society for those whose skin color made them the target of  discrimination. In spite of long odds  the civil rights movement of the sixties and seventies has made a dramatic  difference in personal attitudes and in many aspects of public and private  life. This book concludes with the hope  that it will be so for the right of children and their parents to live in a  society without fear of sexual assault.<\/p>\n<p> Marci Hamilton\u2019s book is short and  to the point. Its last sentence sums up the book  and the cause: \u201c<em>It is an either\/or choice: we can either protect the predators or the  children.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>\n<div>\n  <div id=\"ftn1\">\n    <small><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn1\"><sup>1<\/sup> <\/a> R.H.  Helmholtz, \u201cChildren\u2019s Rights and The Canon Law: Law and Practice in Later  Medieval England,\u201d <u>Studia Canonica<\/u> 67(2007): 43.<\/small>\n  <\/div>\n<div>\n  <div id=\"div\">\n      <small><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn1\"><sup>2<\/sup> <\/a> <u>Justice  Denied<\/u>, p. 89.<\/small> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr size=\"1\">\n<p class=\"authorfoot\">\n\n<!-- BEGIN AUTHORS FOOTNOTE -->\n<a name=\"bio\"><\/a><\/p>\nThomas P. Doyle is a Dominican priest with a doctorate in canon law and five separate master&#8217;s degrees. Doyle, who previously served as a canon lawyer at the Vatican Embassy, is an advocate for church abuse victims and is an expert in the canonical and pastoral dimensions of the problem. Doyle is the author of several previous books including <i>Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church&#8217;s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse<\/i> with A.W. Richard Sipe and Patrick Wall. \n<p class=\"authorfoot\"><br>\n    <br>\n  \n<\/p>\n    <\/div><\/div><div class=\"was-this-helpful\">\n    <div\n            class=\"was-this-helpful__question-container\"\n            aria-labelledby=\"was-this-helpful__question\"\n            role=\"group\"\n    >\n        <span\n                id=\"was-this-helpful__question\"\n                class=\"was-this-helpful__question fl-text-lg-bold\"\n        >Was this helpful?<\/span>\n        <button\n                class=\"was-this-helpful__button fl-text-sm\"\n                aria-label=\"Yes\"\n                value=\"yes\"\n        >\n            <span class=\"was-this-helpful__button-text fl-text-bold\">Yes<\/span>\n            <i class=\"was-this-helpful__button-icon\">\n                <svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                    <g id=\"thumbs-up\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_604_3418)\">\n                        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