Inconsistent interpretations of Marsy’s Law jeopardize public knowledge, safety
Victim rights amendment is creating havoc as police departments arbitrarily choose to withhold information from the public.
In early May, a man broke into a Fort Myers house and attacked a woman who was sleeping inside.
The woman, however, invoked her privacy rights as a victim under a new Florida constitutional amendment, so the Fort Myers Police Department refused to reveal important details about the crime, keeping under wraps a sketch of a suspect who was on the loose.
That was a bridge too far even for the group that advocated for the victim rights amendment known as Marsy’s Law. After reading about a local TV station’s failed attempts to get information to the public about the home invasion, Marsy’s Law for Florida fired off a press release.
“This is an overly extreme interpretation of the law,” wrote Paul Hawkes, a lawyer for Marsy’s Law for Florida. “While crime victims’ rights should never be compromised, and the ability for victims to prevent the release of information that could be used to locate or harass them is critical, law enforcement agencies should continue to provide information that is in the best interest of public safety.”
Glad that’s settled. Except it’s not. Law enforcement agencies across the state are each interpreting the amendment as they see fit. It’s the wild West, with some agencies asking crime victims or relatives if they want to remain unnamed, while others leave it to the victims to bring it up. Some agencies are releasing the very information that others are withholding.
Here are some examples — many of them tracked by the First Amendment Foundation — of how law enforcement is using Marsy’s Law to deny information:
In January, after five people were shot to death in Sebring, police refused to identify the victims, citing the new constitutional protections for crime victims.
Earlier this month, Altamonte Springs police refused to identify a young girl who died after being struck by a car. The girl was riding in a trailer behind a bicycle her father was riding.
In New Smyrna Beach, police wouldn’t
name a clerk who was robbed at a convenience store.
In Brevard County, the sheriff ’s office refused to name a deputy who shot into a car, saying the deputy was the victim of an assault and didn’t want to be identified.
The Tallahassee Police Department refused to name the victim or the suspect in a DUI homicide case.
In Volusia County, the medical examiner isn’t naming any homicide victims it examines.
After a woman was charged with neglecting her children, the Sarasota County Sheriff ’s Office refused to reveal the name of a day-care center where she worked.
Martin County wouldn’t reveal where a man was arrested because it was “too close” to the victim’s address.
Hillsborough County won’t release the name of a 17-year-old shot in the head by a deputy.
Many of these and other examples are in direct conflict with the state’s Sunshine Law and the constitutional right of access to public records.
Police, however, are often deferring to Marsy’s Law, at the expense of the public’s right to know.
The state Legislature had a chance this past spring to pass a law that could have brought some clarity to the victims rights amendment, and maybe preserve to some degree the public’s right to information.
Didn’t happen. And we’re not surprised, considering the Legislature’s bipartisan enthusiasm for eroding the state’s Sunshine Law, which includes public records. Some lawmakers may be quite pleased law enforcement is withholding information.
We can’t help but contrast lawmakers’ nonchalance about the consequences of the Marsy’s Law amendment with their zeal to pass a law that ensured Amendment 4 — which gave ex-felons the right to vote — was defined to the nth degree.
Which brings us to another comparison: The Marsy’s Law amendment came to voters courtesy of the deeply flawed Constitution Revision Commission, which bundled victim rights with two other amendments, including changing the mandatory retirement age for judges. The three unrelated amendments were presented to voters as one big, confusing question.
A bill this past spring to stop the commission from bundling unrelated amendments — a known problem — went nowhere.
But, oh, you had to stand in awe at the Legislature’s determination to make changes in the way citizens put questions on the ballot to address fraudulent petition gathering — a non-existent problem in Florida. That one passed and just got signed into law by the governor.
Our best hope right now for fixing Marsy’s Law is that the courts will eventually intervene and restore some order and consistency so that Floridians’ right to information is a matter of law, not a matter of law enforcement’s whim.