MANSFIELD — A new state law advancing the rights of crime victims has added to the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office workload, which could create the need for an additional advocate.
That was the message Tuesday morning from Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher to county commissioners regarding the impact of HB 343, also known as Marsy’s Law, which went into effect a month ago.
“We are not requesting additional funding, but (we are) trying to put the commissioners on notice as to a change in the law (regarding) mandates that have been placed upon us effective April 6,” Schumacher said.
The concepts behind Marsy’s Law were approved by voters in 2017 with an amendment to the Ohio Constitution. Those concepts, put into state law by legislators and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, aim to enhance victims’ rights and ensure their voices are heard throughout the legal process.
Marsy’s Law, named after Marsalee “Marsy” Nicholas, a California woman who was tragically murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983, has gained support across the country.
Some version of it has been enacted in a dozen states.
Under the Ohio legislation, victims are granted a series of rights, including the “right to be treated with dignity and respect, the right to timely notice of all court proceedings, and the right to be present and heard during those proceedings.”
(Above is a copy of the Victim Rights Request Form now being used under HB 343, aka Marsy’s Law.)
Additionally, Marsy’s Law ensures that victims receive prompt restitution and have the ability to make statements at parole and plea hearings.
The law has also brought about changes within the criminal justice system itself.
Prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are now required to provide victims with updated information about the progress of their cases, seeking to ensure victims remain informed and engaged throughout the legal proceedings.
The Richland County Prosecutor’s Office has three staff members devoted to working with victims — a victim services director and two advocates, who have worked almost exclusively in adult courts.
None of these victim rights’ advocates are attorneys. Schumacher said the office has obtained grant funding to help pay for the current positions.
“Many of these additional notices (and) requests that we have to attain, notices that have to be given to advocates, consultations that have to be provided to the victims (are requirements) that hadn’t ever been before,” Schumacher said.
She said the biggest impact is being felt in Juvenile Court, where the prosecutor’s office has not maintained a victims’ advocate in the past.
Schumacher said the juvenile court has maintained it’s a victims’ advocate, albeit performing lesser duties than required under HB 343. However, Marsy’s Law requires the prosecutor’s office to perform its own advocacy role.
“Under Marsy’s Law, it specifically states that the prosecutor’s office ‘shall.’ There’s no way I can get around that language. It’s not ambiguous at all. It’s very clear, it’s very direct,” Schumacher said.
The added requirements may necessitate adding a third advocate to work directly with victims in Juvenile Court.
Since the law went into effect, Schumacher said, the prosecutor has 56 pending cases in Juvenile Court, an average of eight new victims per week.
She said her office spends:
— about two hours per day sending out upcoming hearing notices to victims and sending out initial packets to victims on new charges.
— two to three hours per day in court attending hearings.
— one hour per day calling victims to set up victim rights request form meetings.
— one hour per day meeting with victims to go over victim rights request forms.
— 90 minutes per day having initial or regular victim meetings.
“This is a total of 7.5 to 8.5 hours per day spent only on juvenile cases,” Schumacher said.
The prosecutor said her office has been able to absorb with current staffing all the new mandates found in Marsy’s Law. The extra work in Juvenile Court may require additional staff, she said, though no formal request was made Tuesday.
Schumacher said there is money in her 2023 budget to fund a third advocacy position, largely due to other vacancies in the office. If the position is added, it may require funding in the 2024 budget year.
Some critics of Marsy’s Law argued it may unintentionally complicate the process for defendants. They said additional rights granted to victims could infringe upon the rights of the accused, potentially leading to biased outcomes in the criminal justice system.
Schumacher said the new law has not impacted the way her office prosecutes cases.
“The way we’ve reviewed charges, decided charges, etc., has not changed. We’ve just been very diligent on giving notifications,” she said.
Afterward, county administrator Andrew Keller said the purpose of the meeting was to “get the commissioners’ consensus” for a potential new advocate position.
Commissioners were non-committal after the presentation.
“I reached out to several other county prosecutors’ offices,” Commissioner Tony Vero said, adding none have yet added new employees due to the law.
“I think that’s sort of the approach right now. They’re all seeing how they’re working with the new law effect of April, monitoring (its impact),” Vero said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks said he also wanted to see how the new requirements were impacting the office.
“I think we can observe other counties and how they’ve handled it and actually look deeper into what the workload is now and what our capabilities are of absorbing some of this or having to hire someone. I want to study it a little bit,” Banks said.
