NEW YORK
New York Daily News
Editorial
Leaders of a secret society rather than an open Legislature, New York’s Democratic Assembly speaker and Republican Senate majority leader on Wednesday refused interviews about extension or elimination of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse.
A press aide for Carl Heastie said the speaker would discuss the topic only after his Democratic conference reached a position behind closed doors. A flack for John Flanagan said the majority leader was just too busy.
Their evasions were perfectly consistent with the Legislature’s practice of resolving controversial issues without public hearings or the input of independent experts even as connected lobbyists have the run of the place.
The Daily News has called for statute of limitation reforms that would open courthouse doors that have been closed to victims and prosecutors. That said, lengthening a statute of limitations raises sensitive due process concerns. After too many years, for example, defendants can lose the ability to defend themselves.
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