Blocking the Courthouse Door: How the Republican Party and Its Corporate Allies Are Taking Away Your Right to Sue
 
Please Login or Join to Download.

Thumbnails:

Description:

From Publishers Weekly Investigative reporter Mencimer, a contributing editor to the Washington Monthly, takes on tort reformers with an energetic "serve and volley" approach. First Mencimer serves the arguments that proponents of tort reform make to support their agenda--limiting judicial remedies for victims of accidents, product liability suits, medical malpractice suits and the like--and then volleys those arguments back with statistics, anecdotes and conceptual arguments. She guides readers through many of the tort reformers' most cherished poster children of tort system abuse--the McDonald's scalding coffee case, the supposed abuses in medical malpractice and the tort reform movement's bête noire, the diabolical system of punitive damages--and systematically, and usually convincingly, debunks each of them. Mencimer identifies the architects of the tort reform movement as Republicans, corporations and professional groups that stand to gain politically or economically if the tort system is limited. The book's conclusion addresses the larger issue of the wisdom of requiring wrongdoers to pay for the damages from their actions, as opposed to other systems that employ social safety nets to spread the cost of such harm throughout the society. Although the author's advocacy is occasionally too zealous, she provides much food for thought. (Dec. 5) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist By demonizing trial attorneys and exaggerating high-profile litigation awards--the famous McDonald's hot-coffee case--campaigns for limiting damage awards threaten to jeopardize the American right to civil jury trials guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Investigative reporter Mencimer examines the Republican campaigns for tort reform that would protect large corporations from "frivolous lawsuits." The campaigns carry the dual benefit of supporting the interests of corporations that are major Republican campaign contributors and hurting trial lawyers, who are part of the contribution base of Democrats. Mencimer criticizes the media for their lack of understanding about civil litigation, willingness to swallow reports of litigation abuses, and failure to understand that Republican tort reform will also limit the ability of news organizations to sue for information. Drawing on national data and scrutiny of individual cases, Mencimer defends the civil justice system and its reliance on jurors, average citizens who are the same people who vote. This is an eye-opening look at an important issue for readers concerned with the civil justice system. Vanessa Bush Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Submitted On:

09 Sep 2007

File Author:

Mencimer, Stephanie

File Size:

2.10 MB