PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com
by Maria Panaritis, Staff Writer
As he prepares to convene a hearing Monday that could shape the fate of a controversial measure to let Pennsylvania child-sex abuse victims sue over decades-old attacks, Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R., Montgomery) has declined to publicly take a position on the bill.
But the law firm that bears his name has not always been so reserved.
In 2008, records show, lawyers for the firm, Elliott Greenleaf, were among advocates who unsuccessfully argued that a similar proposal under consideration in Delaware was unconstitutional. Firm lawyers at the time represented Norbertine Fathers Inc., a Catholic order sued by abuse victims.
Greenleaf didn’t personally handle the suit – his namesake firm has about 50 lawyers in Pennsylvania and Delaware – and there’s no record indicating the extent of his role.
But the case adds another subtext as the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Greenleaf gathers Monday to weigh the constitutionality of the similar bill in Pennsylvania, one staunchly opposed by the Catholic church. Supporters of the measure, approved in the House by a wide margin in April, have predicted that the Senate will use the constitutionality question to dilute or defeat the bill.
Among the expected witnesses is Solicitor General Bruce L. Castor Jr., a former partner at Greenleaf’s firm, who Capitol sources say plans to testify that the legislation would be unconstitutional.
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