Allegheny County DA defers to state AG in Marsy’s Law suit

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office will not move forward with efforts to intervene in a lawsuit to challenge the proposed Marsy’s Law amendment to the state constitution, according to a statement Thursday.

The office was satisfied with the response filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, which will be representing the acting secretary of state in the lawsuit, and decided that it would withdraw a motion to intervene, spokesman Mike Manko said.

District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. filed a petition in Commonwealth Court last week to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia resident Lorraine Haw, which argues that the proposed amendment is unconstitutional.

Zappala argued in the petition that he should be allowed to participate in that lawsuit because the Marsy’s Law amendment, which is intended to bolster protections for victims of crimes, would impact the work of his office, according to court documents.

The ACLU did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Pennsylvania voters would vote to approve or reject the amendment when they head to the polls in November.

Changes covered by the amendment would include the availability of bail, who can be called as witnesses, the pardon process and the right to be free from double jeopardy. It also would bolster laws that give crime victims the right to be notified of and present for court proceedings, seek restitution, offer victim impact statements in court and to be notified of parole proceedings and inmate release dates.

In the lawsuit challenging the proposed amendment, the ACLU argues that the ballot question is unconstitutional because it combines too many changes into a single amendment.

The attorney general’s office refutes that argument, stating in court documents that every part of the amendment advances a single goal, “securing victims’ rights in the criminal cases in which they suffered direct harm.”

Jennifer Riley, state director for the advocacy group Marsy’s Law for Pennsylvania, criticized the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, calling the lawsuit a “last-minute effort to undermine the electoral process.”

“We continue to be confounded by the ACLU’s opposition to enumerating rights for crime victims – rights that are, in fact, civil liberties,” Riley said in a statement. “Marsy’s Law has undergone an extensive legislative process, and this lawsuit is an eleventh-hour attempt to derail the progress that has been made for survivors.”