JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's a law designed to protect victims of crime from further harassment, but recently Marsy's Law has been used by police agencies to shield the names of officers involved in deadly shootings.
Today the Florida Supreme Court issued a 6-0 ruling that states the names of police officers can't be hidden due to Marsy's Law.
The crux of the argument is whether police officers who used deadly force in the line of duty did so because they themselves were potential victims of a crime when threatened by a suspect.
In 2021 the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office began redacting the names of officers involved in police shootings. JSO cited Marsy's Law and a 2018 decision by Florida's 1st District Court of Appeals.
However, on Thursday the Florida Supreme Court overruled that decision by stating, in part "Marsy's Law guarantees to no victim - police or otherwise - the categorical right to withhold his or her name from disclosure".
During earlier court arguments, Philip J. Padovano, an attorney representing the city of Tallahassee, said officers who use deadly force should not be able to use Marsy's Law.
"They were not acting as individuals, they were acting as agents of the government," said Padovano during arguments in front of the Florida Supreme Court in December of 2022, "they were in fact the government on that day when they went out there with their weapons and the power to arrest people, the power to use deadly force if necessary."
Thursday the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released the following statement to First Coast News regarding the Florida Supreme Court's decision about Marsy's Law:
The Jacksonville Sheriff Office will always follow the law. We have awaited clarity from the Florida Supreme Court on this issue with which we have been provided by this opinion. In accordance with the law and this administration’s commitment to transparency, JSO will keep officer victim names unredacted in the future.