BISMARCK - A November ballot measure aimed at putting the rights of North Dakota crime victims and offenders on equal footing ran into opposition Thursday from advocates for the very victims it seeks to protect.
The North Dakota Victim Assistance Association, made up of about 50 victim advocates across the state, joined prosecutors at a press conference in Bismarck to oppose Marsy's Law, saying it could have "reverse consequences" on victims and raising concerns that the constitutional amendment is being pushed by a California billionaire.
Association president Darla Juma of Stanley said Marsy's Law would conflict with some of North Dakota's current victim rights laws that are working well, and would require victims to testify in court more often.
Juma said it also would create unfunded mandates and harm victims of serious crimes by diverting victim services from those who need it most - victims of violent crimes, sex crimes and felony property crimes.
"Marsy's Law puts a $5 bad check on the same legal footing as a rape or murder case when it comes to the victim services required, and that will bog down our court system and harm the victims who need us most," she said.
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The association - which is listed as a resource on the Marsy's Law for North Dakota webpage - initially supported the measure but opposed it after learning more about its effects, Juma said.
Marsy's Law for North Dakota issued a preemptive statement before the press conference, quoting chairwoman Kathleen Wrigley as saying, "a few prosecutors and victims' advocates are showing their callous disregard for equal rights for crime victims."
"Instead these groups are endorsing the complacency of the status quo where crime victims in North Dakota are outright ignored by the criminal justice system making them to feel victimized all over again," said Wrigley, whose brother was a 21-year-old police officer in Philadelphia when he was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1991. Wrigley is the wife of Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley.
Sponsors successfully gathered about 7,500 more than signatures than was required to get the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot.
The measure would expand victims' rights currently listed in state law and add them to the state constitution, including the rights to be free from intimidation, to be heard at plea or sentencing hearings and to be promptly notified of changes in an offender's custodial status.
Janelle Moos, executive director of the nonprofit North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services, said fair treatment standards adopted into state law in 1987 already afford 18 rights to victims and witnesses, and any proposed policy changes should go through the Legislature.
"We know a one-size-fits-all approach like Marsy's Law is putting forward is not what's best for victims in North Dakota, and we really encourage a more transparent process," she said.
The measure's sole financial backer is California billionaire Henry Nicholas, whose sister's murder in 1983 and a run-in a week later between their mother and the suspect who was out on bail led him to push for the original Marsy's Law passed by California voters in 2008. Illinois voters passed a version of the law in 2012.
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Nicholas is bankrolling efforts to spread the law to at least half a dozen other states, contributing more than $1 million to the North Dakota effort. Marsy's Law measures are already on the November ballot in Montana and South Dakota.
Sponsors note that North Dakota is one of 18 states with no constitutional protections for crime victims' rights. The North Dakota Sheriff's & Deputies Association has endorsed the measure, while both the North Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the North Dakota State's Attorneys' Association oppose it.
Aaron Birst, executive director of the state's attorney's association, which is having its summer conference in Bismarck and had a large contingent at the press conference, said they're not able to spend money on a campaign but will speak out against the measure. He acknowledged the well-funded supporters of the measure will have an easier time getting their message out but said he has faith that voters will reject the measure as bad public policy.
"At the end of the day, I don't think the money is going to win the day or lose the day," said Birst, a former prosecutor in Cass and Stutsman counties.
