The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that votes cast on Tuesday for the Marsy's Law ballot referendum on victims' rights will not be counted — affirming an order last week from the state Commonwealth Court.
The Pennsylvania attorney general's office on Friday appealed the Commonwealth Court’s preliminary injunction to prohibit tabulating the votes until a legal challenge to the proposed amendment is complete. The attorney general’s office claimed that the intermediate appellate court decision was wrong.
But the state's highest court, in a two-paragraph order issued late Monday afternoon, ruled 4-3 in favor of those challenging Marsy's Law, including the state League of Women Voters.
In the document, the state Supreme Court said that neither its order nor that of the Commonwealth Court "deprives any voter of the right to cast a ballot on the proposed 'Victim’s Rights' amendment at issue in this litigation at the upcoming Nov. 5, 2019, general election."
Reggie Shuford, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which represented the League of Women Voters, called it a win.
"The General Assembly gave voters an overwhelming ballot question and forced them to vote up or down on the entire package. There may be provisions of Marsy’s Law that a voter likes and provisions they don’t like, but they have no opportunity to vote individually on each piece. The legislature forced them into an unfair, take-it-or-leave-it choice."
Attorney General Josh Shapiro expressed disappointment over the ruling.
“I respectfully disagree with the Court’s majority ruling,” he said. “The courts in this matter had a very clear opportunity – let the votes be counted; let the voters' voices be heard. I can’t help but feel the Courts have quieted the voices of the people of this Commonwealth and failed crime victims.”
Jennifer Riley, the state director for Marsy’s Law for Pennsylvania, said she, too, was disappointed.
“The Commonwealth Court’s injunction will harm past, present and future crime victims who will be denied constitutional rights until the votes are certified,” she said in a statement. “We believe that we have the stronger legal case, backed by bipartisan support of elected representatives in the legislature. It is now more important than ever that Pennsylvanians get to the polls and vote for Marsy’s Law.”
On Wednesday, Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler ruled in favor of the League of Women Voters. The organization filed a challenge to the Marsy's Law ballot question in early October, arguing that the language used in the referendum to amend the state constitution was overbroad and did not properly inform voters on the specific issues they were being asked to decide.
Judge Ceisler agreed.
She also found that it was likely that, if passed, Marsy's Law would infringe upon the rights of the accused.
The Commonwealth Court decision addressed only the preliminary injunction and not the merits of the case. However, Judge Ceisler wrote that she believed that the proposed amendment would impact every part of the criminal justice system, and not just victims’ rights.
Proponents of the amendment say it will give victims more of a voice in criminal court proceedings, including providing notice to them for pending court hearings.
Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor, joined in a dissenting statement by Justices Kevin M Dougherty and Sallie Updyke Mundy, said he would have reversed the Commonwealth Court opinion, finding that halting the tabulation of votes "has significant potential to foster uncertainty amongst the electorate and therefore, to impact upon the election's outcome."
Justice Saylor said that Judge Ceisler's opinion appears to have placed the burden on the acting secretary of the commonwealth, who oversees elections, while he believes it should have rested upon the Marsy's Law challengers.
Justice Saylor suggested that if a restraint on the process was necessary, it could have been simply enjoining the certification of the election results and not barring the tabulation.
Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter @PaulaReedWard.
First Published: November 4, 2019, 10:52 p.m.
