The legal fight over a report that details decades of allegations of sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Archdiocese of Baltimore is headed to the state’s highest court.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in 2023 released the 456-page report, which asserts that 156 priests and other personnel engaged in “horrific and repeated abuse of the most vulnerable children in their communities” while leadership in the archdiocese “looked the other way.” The names of 46 people were redacted.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. later ruled that the identities of all but three of them could be revealed.
Brown’s office then released a revised version of the report that contained fewer redactions. But certain information remained hidden because some people named in the document appealed that decision.
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The Maryland Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider four legal questions, including whether the attorney general has the authority to publish a report based on grand jury information that intentionally identifies people who have not been charged with a crime to hold them publicly accountable.
To this point, the litigation has almost entirely played out under seal.
A spokesperson for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Kelsey Hartman, declined to comment.
The names of five church leaders as well as two other people accused of committing abuse remain blacked out in the revised report. Survivors have publicly called for all the names to be unredacted.
The Baltimore Banner and The Baltimore Sun in a series of stories unmasked them.
It’s unclear when the justices will issue an opinion.
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