Page 12 - NovemberDecember24 Report

Ohio’s Marsy’s Law
Under Scrutiny
By Jack Greiner
In 2017, Ohio voters approved the adoption of Section 10a
to Article One of the Ohio Constitution. Better known as
“Marsy’s Law” this section added somewhat aspirational
language to the Constitution related to the rights of crime victims.
Specifically, Section 10a provides:
To secure for victims justice and due process throughout the
criminal and juvenile justice systems, a victim shall have the
following rights, which shall be protected in a manner no less
vigorous than the rights afforded to the accused:
1. to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim’s safety,
dignity and privacy;
2. upon request, to reasonable and timely notice of all public
proceedings involving the criminal offense or delinquent act
against the victim, and to be present at all such proceedings;
3. to be heard in any public proceeding involving release,
plea, sentencing, disposition, or parole, or in any public
proceeding in which a right of the victim is implicated;
4. to reasonable protection from the accused or any person
acting on behalf of the accused;
5. upon request, to reasonable notice of any release or escape
of the accused;
6. except as authorized by section 10 of Article I of this consti-
tution, to refuse an interview, deposition, or other discovery
12 request made by the accused or any person acting on behalf of
the accused;
7. to full and timely restitution from the person who committed
the criminal offense or delinquent act against the victim;
8. to proceedings free from unreasonable delay and a prompt
conclusion of the case;
9. upon request, to confer with the attorney for the government;
and
10. to be informed, in writing, of all rights enumerated in
this section.
While certain portions of Section 10a are specific, section (1)
– to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim’s safety,
dignity and privacy – is vague. How “safe” can the state make a
crime victim? What constitutes “dignity” exactly? And how much
privacy is someone entitled to?
This last question is particularly vexing given the existence
of Ohio’s Public Records Act. The Public Records Act requires
that the government act as transparently as possible. And law
enforcement clearly is an arm of government, where some level of
transparency is critical. To try to add some specificity, the Ohio
Legislature, in September of 2023, adopted 2930.07.
2930.07 attempts to deal comprehensively with the promise of
privacy in Section 10a. The statute applies to “case documents,”
which includes “a document or information in a document, or
THE REPORT | November/December 2024 | CincyBar.org