‘Marsy’s Law’ arguments to be rescheduled

After announcing last week that it would hear arguments Aug. 31 in a closely watched case about a 2018 constitutional amendment known as “Marsy’s Law,’ the Florida Supreme Court said Tuesday it will reschedule the hearing.

The decision came after Philip Padovano, one of the attorneys in the case, said in a filing that he would be unavailable Aug. 31 because he will be “leaving the state for a longstanding, prepaid, preplanned, non-refundable vacation” from Aug. 26 to Sept. 8.

The Supreme Court order Tuesday did not set a new date for the arguments, saying only that the hearing would “be rescheduled for a later date.”

The case involves whether Marsy’s Law, which included a series of protections for crime victims, can shield the identities of police officers.

The 1st District Court of Appeal last year sided with two Tallahassee police officers who invoked the law to prevent their identities from being released after use-of-force shooting incidents in which they were threatened. The officers argued they were victims in the incidents.

The city of Tallahassee appealed to the Supreme Court and has been joined by news organizations that say the officers’ names should be released. Padovano represents the city.

Locally, the Marion County Sheriff has also claimed Marsy’s Law protections for officers involved in deadly shootings- preventing disclosure of the officers name to the media.