Civil Justice System Finds a Voice on the Hill
Our nation’s civil justice system is getting some attention over on Capitol Hill. Late last week, six members of the U.S. House of Representatives said that they’re starting a “Congressional Civil Justice Caucus.” The members hope that the caucus will be a “vehicle for organizing and debate.”
Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and the Representative Dan Boren (D-OK) are leading the caucus as co-chairmen. In a written statement, Representative Goodlatte said, “Excessive and frivolous litigation and inefficient rules and procedures drain U.S. companies of desperately-needed resources and hinder job growth and innovation.” Other founding members of the caucus include:
Representative Jim Matheson (D-UT)
Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN)
Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX)
Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Comments
The justice system has
Naomi Fein &mdash Feb 14th, 2011 - 2:41pm
The justice system has built-in controls against the abuse of lawsuits: judges and juries. The New York Daily News last week had one clip about a judge who sanely and sharply reprimanded a plaintiff (who was also a lawyer), as he threw the lawsuit out. (I've posted the whole clip on my blog, under Lawsuit of the Week.)As Akhil Reed Amar eloquently points out in his definitive book "The Bill of Rights" (Yale University Press), the jury is the fourth, and most populist, branch of government.Anyone who propounds a thesis of "lawsuit abuse" should first read and absorb Amar's profound and stirring Chapter Five (on the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments), about juries. Since I and my fellow citizens ARE the jury, I will fight to prevent powerful corporate interests from barring my participation in the legal process.