|
|
|
CG Chair Philip K. Howard Responds to John Edwards December 15, 2003 Senator Edwards exposes the key flaw in his conception of American justice when
he praises juries as "democracy in action." Justice is supposed to be by the rule
of law, not jury by jury by a vote of the people. Justice is supposed to be predictable,
with standards and penalties that everyone can understand. Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Jr. famously defined law as "the prophecies of what courts will do." Today
in America, no one has any idea what a court will do. Newsweek's cover story vividly
describes how this sue-for-anything approach undermines everyone's freedom.
The solution is not to "restrict access to the courts," but to restore the rule
of law. I, too, "am a strong believer in the courts as a place for ordinary people
to be heard." But before a claim goes to a jury to decide disputed facts (such
as who is lying or who ran the red light), a judge must decide what is a valid
claim as a matter of law. That's why they're called lawsuits, not go-for-whatever-you-want
suits.
Click here to read the Newsweek cover story, Lawsuit Hell: How Fear of Litigation
is Paralyzing Our Professions. | |
