A Massachusetts court has dismissed sexual assault charges against Fick & Marx client Theodore McCarrick, who was the former Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and the oldest priest in the Catholic Church to face charges of sexual abuse. After an alleged victim came forward with claims that he had been assaulted by McCarrick in the 1970s, criminal charges were brought.
McCarrick pleaded not guilty, but by that time, he was no longer serving as a priest, lived in an assisted living facility in Missouri, and suffered from serious dementia. Fick & Marx engaged a prominent expert in dementia to conduct an extensive neurological assessment, which revealed that McCarrick was unable to understand the proceedings or to assist in his own defense. On that basis, Fick & Marx moved to dismiss this case because McCarrick was no longer competent to stand trial, arguing that “Mr. McCarrick’s dementia severely constrains his constitutional rights to establish his own innocence,” and “in such circumstances, a criminal trial would we inconsistent with due process.” After an independent examination by an independent forensic psychiatrist, the Commonwealth reached the same conclusion. The Commonwealth ultimately filed its own motion to dismiss, and the court allowed that motion, ending the criminal case.
The initial charges were covered by The New York Times and The Guardian. The eventual dismissal also received extensive coverage from NPR, CNN, and The Washington Post.
Prosecuting a 90-year-old man with severe dementia for alleged offenses that supposedly occurred many decades ago serves no valid purpose, and the Constitution clearly prohibits it.