While on the topic of alcohol, we also recommend Vice Squad’s Oct. 14 commentary on the Jamaican Ginger paralysis episode of the early 1930s, in which tens of thousands of mostly poor drinkers were afflicted with paralysis (“jake leg”) after consuming a cheap “medicinal” liquor substitute that had been adulterated with an industrial plasticizing chemical for purposes of evading scrutiny by Prohibition enforcers. A recent New Yorker article on the jake-leg episode (Dan Baum, “Jake Leg”, Sept. 15) declares it unfortunate (see final page of story) that this public health catastrophe occurred before the modern liberalization of product liability and class action law, which would presumably have led to a cathartic spasm of litigation. That’s a far from obvious conclusion, however, since even under today’s liberalized rules the only deep-pocketed entity on the scene, the company that made the plasticizing chemical, would not likely be found responsible in court unless someone could show it was aware its product was at risk of being added to the food supply. The more appropriate target for blame — aside from the shady operators who committed the adulteration — is the Prohibitionist regime itself, which ensured that the alcohol trade would fall into unscrupulous hands.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Commentary-fest
More good opinionated reads:
* Author Philip K. Howard, writing last week in the Wall Street Journal on the celebrated decision by the Appellate Committee of Britain’s House of Lords in Tomlinson v. Congleton Borough Council, discussed earlier in this space Aug. 11 and Oct. 3 (“When Judges Won’t Judge”, Oct. 22, reprinted at Common Good);
* Also in the Wall Street Journal (OpinionJournal, Oct. 27), editor Robert Bartley on the vindication of his editorial page in its criticism of hysterical media fads over supposed epidemics of sex abuse at nursery schools (see May 8, 2003, Sept. 4-6, 1999) and autoimmune disease from silicone breast implants;
* Clint Bolick, vice president of the Institute for Justice, strongly supports the nomination of the “strikingly libertarian” California Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown to the D.C. Circuit (“Good judge”, Reason Online, Oct. 27; more on the nomination from David Bernstein, Lawrence Solum).
Overcriminalized.com
Not related to this website despite its name, Overcriminalized.com is a new site from the Heritage Foundation “devoted to challenging and ultimately reversing the harmful trend by government to criminalize more and more ordinary activities.” Among the case histories presented: Palo Alto v. Leibrand, in which a 61-year-old homeowner was fingerprinted and booked (complete with mug shot) on charges of letting the street-side xylosma bushes near her bungalow grow more than two feet high (her site); and cases of alleged federal overzealousness in enforcing the False Claims Act (U.S. v. Krizek, alleged overbilling by psychotherapist); and environmental law (Hansen v. U.S., manager of bankrupt chemical plant sentenced to 46 months despite critics’ questions as to both mens rea and his practical capability to rectify the various violations). For a sampling of similar themes aired on this site, see Aug. 6 (drowsy driving), Jul. 22 (corporation’s vicarious criminal liability for acts of employees and agents), Jul. 14 (U.K. seaweed-picking); May 14 (sexual harassment); Aug. 3-5, 2001 (cloned human cells); Dec. 8-10, 2000 (gun sale); Oct. 20-22, 2000 (product liability); May 18-21, 2000 (public morality laws) and Dec. 20 and Aug. 2, 1999 (injury to animals). Plus: Tim Sandefur (Oct. 28) has more, including pointers to an earlier Heritage memo on the subject (Paul Rosenzweig, “The Over-Criminalization of Social and Economic Conduct”, Apr. 17) and commentaries by Tyler Cowen (Oct. 21) and himself (Oct. 16).
Fear of litigious diploma mills, cont’d
“Under pressure from administrators at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, [tenured physics professor George Gollin] has shut down a Web site he created to make information available about the unaccredited distance-learning institutions often referred to as ‘diploma mills.'” (Andrea L. Foster, “U. of Illinois Administrators Ask Professor to Remove Web Site About Diploma Mills”, Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 13; “Cracking Down on Diploma Mills”, CBS News, Jul. 25). Some of the alleged diploma mills cited by Gollin had threatened to sue the university, and Eugene Volokh (Oct. 25) finds it a fair inference that fear of litigation contributed to university administrators’ wish to be rid of the site. However, the state of Oregon accreditation office soon agreed to put up Prof. Gollin’s material on its own site (Office of Degree Authorization). On earlier suits and threatened suits by these enterprises, see our Apr. 28-20, 2000 entry.
Santa Monica blamed for Farmers Market deaths
“It was a tragedy in July when 86-year-old George Russell Weller drove his car through several barricades into a crowded farmers market in Santa Monica, killing 10 people and injuring dozens. … Since they can’t target Mr. Weller profitably, accident victims have already filed five lawsuits against the city of Santa Monica, which has much deeper pockets. … according to some of the victims, the city contributed to the crime by not erecting stronger barricades or otherwise doing more to prevent a man from driving into a crowd of people.” Mentions this site (Adam Summers, “Extracting Cash from Calamity”, Orange County Register/Reason Public Policy Institute, Oct. 23).
Bin Laden’s gift to lawyers
“Say what you like about Osama bin Laden. He’s done wonders for the defamation bar,” says a British barrister. A group of wealthy Saudi businessmen are engaging in “libel tourism,” suing in British courts to silence American critics. British libel law, unburdened by the First Amendment, puts the burden on defendants to prove that their stories are true; the threat of libel suits often acts to deter journalistic inquiries, but now suits are being aimed at American publishers. The Wall Street Journal faces two lawsuits for a February 2002 report on Saudi support for terror that was reprinted in its European edition. (Michael Isikoff & Mark Hosenball, “Libel Tourism”, Newsweek Web, Oct. 22). (via Postrel)
Update: lawsuit-funding cos. shun Ohio
Lawsuit-funding companies, which advance litigants cash in exchange for a share of the eventual booty, have apparently departed the state of Ohio since a decision this summer by the Ohio Supreme Court (see Aug. 4) finding that such activities violate a 180-year-old state law against champerty and permit intermeddlers to “gorge upon the fruits of litigation”. “Several states, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire and South Carolina, have lifted their prohibitions against the practice. At least 100 lawsuit-funding companies have emerged nationwide since 1998 when Perry Walton, a litigation-finance pioneer from Nevada, started holding seminars to teach other entrepreneurs how to make money by doing what some critics say is akin to betting on lawsuits.” (“Lawsuit-funding companies avoid Ohio after court ruling”, AP/Miami Herald, Oct. 1)(more on champerty, from The Litigation Explosion).
Corgi menace averted
“A new law that took effect in Italy [last month] brands border collies, corgis and St Bernards as dangerous dogs which children and criminals are barred from owning.” (Bruce Johnston, “Italy out to end the corgi menace”, Daily Telegraph (UK), Sept. 15).
$2-million hug
“Contestant Will Wright had just won $48,400, and the Wheel of Fortune audience was cheering with abandon in a District of Columbia auditorium where the show was being taped. Suddenly, Wright says, host Pat Sajak leapt at his body and wrapped his arms and legs around him. … This week, the 38-year-old puzzle-guessing champion from Lorton, Va., filed a $2 million lawsuit against the show’s producers over the back injuries he says he suffered from Sajak’s moment of unbridled enthusiasm.” (Carol D. Leonnig, “‘Wheel’ contestant suing over injury”, Washington Post/Arizona Republic, Oct. 18) (via SoCalLawBlog)
Law.com: “The Future of Litigation”
American Lawyer/Corporate Counsel runs a multi-article feature on “The Future of Litigation (contents) with articles on asbestos, the Class Action Fairness Act, and other topics, some of them more to our taste than others. We shouldn’t omit mention of Alison Frankel’s overview piece (“Where We Are”, Law.com, Oct. 8) since it quotes a certain “litigation pundit who slays lawyer-excesses on his ‘Overlawyered’ Web site”.