McKinney v. Goins
Ruled that the retroactive amendment of the statute of limitations for tort claims by victims of child sexual abuse effected by SAFE Child Act did not disturb or destroy a “vested right” and thus did not violate state constitution’s Law of the Land Clause, and the General Assembly may enact retroactive legislation that does not fall into the two explicitly prohibited categories of retroactive laws enumerated in state constitution’s Ex Post Facto Clause. Justice Anita Earls’ concurrence in the result strongly criticized the majority’s “extreme originalis[t]” methodology that “trace[s] a constitutional provision back in time to its earliest appearance in our constitutions and key its meaning to that time” and “threatens to bring the law and constitutional protections back to that point in this state’s history when slavery was legal and women could not own property or vote.”
Related Commentary
State Courts Diverge on Allowing Civil Claims for Child Sexual Abuse Outside Statute of Limitations
Due process challenges by schools and churches to laws reviving civil child sexual abuse claims are pending before the North Carolina and Kentucky supreme courts.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in September
Issues on the dockets include climate change, redistricting, and lawsuits by victims of child sexual abuse.