Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron says his office has filed a motion in Franklin Circuit Court to defend placing Marsy’s Law, a proposed constitutional amendment that provides a “Bill of Rights” for crime victims in Kentucky, on the November ballot.
Marsy’s Law, sponsored by Senator Whitney Westerfield of Christian County, was passed by the General Assembly this year. The amendment would ensure crime victims have the right to notice of court proceedings, the right to be present in court proceedings, the right for victims to have a voice throughout the legal process, and the right to be made aware of any changes in their offenders’ custodial status.
Senator Westerfield is quoted in a news release as saying, “Kentucky crime victims deserve these rights protected in our constitution, and I’m proud to fight in court against the criminal defense bar that believes victims should be treated as second-class citizens in the criminal justice process. I’m grateful to have Attorney General Cameron join Marsy‘s Law for Kentucky and me in this legal challenge.”
The current court challenge against Marsy’s Law was filed by the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and challenges the process used to pass the law and the constitutionality of the measure. In 2019, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard a separate legal challenge to Marsy’s Law and struck the law down, based on the ballot language of the constitutional amendment.