Framing Clergy Sexual Abuse as an Institutional Failure: How Tort Litigation Influences Media Coverage

17 Pages Posted: 24 Apr 2010

See all articles by Timothy D. Lytton

Timothy D. Lytton

Georgia State University College of Law

Date Written: April 22, 2010

Abstract

Tort litigation against the Catholic Church is largely responsible for the widespread understanding of clergy sexual abuse as an institutional failure on the part of Church officials. This essay focuses on three features of tort litigation that explain why it exerts such a powerful influence on the framing of clergy sexual abuse. The article concludes with a brief discussion of two implications of the analysis, one for the current controversy over tort reform and the other for our understanding of child sexual abuse in institutional settings.

Keywords: torts, clergy sexual abuse

Suggested Citation

Lytton, Timothy D., Framing Clergy Sexual Abuse as an Institutional Failure: How Tort Litigation Influences Media Coverage (April 22, 2010). William Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1594503

Timothy D. Lytton (Contact Author)

Georgia State University College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 4037
Atlanta, GA 30302-4037
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.gsu.edu/profile/timothy-d-lytton/

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
96
Abstract Views
960
Rank
492,631
PlumX Metrics