The Ledger by Kathy Leigh Berkowitz
February 21, 2019
10th Judicial Circuit Court may face first violation of the victims’ rights amendment approved by voters in November with plea deal in domestic violence case without notification to the victim or her counsel.
BARTOW — A month after Marsy’s Law went into effect, Polk County sees what could be the first violation of the victims’ rights amendment approved by voters in November filed in the 10th Judicial Circuit Court.
The motion, presented by a domestic violence victim and her attorney, Debra J. Sutton of Sutton Law Firm in Bartow, said the woman’s rights had been violated when the court offered a negotiated plea deal to the man accused in the case without notifying her or her counsel. The plea was accepted, according to supporting court documents filed in Sutton’s motion.
The last notification to the victim and her attorney was that the case was set for a jury trial the week of Jan. 28, Sutton said.