PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com
by Maria Panaritis, STAFF WRITER
Bruce L. Castor, Jr., the former Montgomery County prosecutor now serving as the highest-ranking lawyer in the state Attorney General’s Office, plans to testify next week in a key Senate hearing on a bill that has pitted child sexual abuse victims against the Catholic Church.
In an interview Thursday, Castor confirmed his appearance Monday before the Judiciary Committee to discuss the constitutionality of a measure to let victims sue attackers and the institutions that employed them decades after the abuse occurred.
Castor wouldn’t say if he will argue for or against the bill. “I’d just as soon people find out my opinion when I testify,” he said.
He said, however, it seemed less clear-cut that such a law would be allowed by the Pennsylvania constitution than by the U.S. Constitution.
“All of us who are in law enforcement want there to be opportunities to catch criminals whether civil or criminal,” said Castor. “But there are constraints that the constitution imposes upon executive officers in carrying out those duties.”
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