The Clinton administration is making "blatant end-runs around the democratic process" in pursuing lawsuits against tobacco companies and gunmakers, says former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. And he warns liberals that "You might approve the outcomes in these two cases, but they establish a precedent for other cases you might find wildly unjust."
The administration is using "novel legal theories" that "give the administration extraordinary discretion to decide who's misleading the public and whose products are defective," says Reich.
Using these standards, the entire advertising industry and makers of any product that might result in death -- from alcohol to sharp cooking utensils -- is in trouble.
"Worse, no judge will ever scrutinize these theories....The goal of both efforts is to threaten the industries with the risk of such large penalties that they'll agree to a deal....."
"American politics is rotting," says Reich, "....But the way to fix everything isn't to turn our backs on the democratic process and pursue litigation as the administration is doing."
Source: Robert B. Reich, "Smoking, Guns," American Prospect, January 17, 2000.
For more on Liability and Guns http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/crime51.html
For more on Tobacco Company Suits http://www.ncpa.org/pd/law/mcc/index4c.html
20 or so years ago when the government passed the rico law they only intended that they be used against the mob. and for many years they were only used against the mob.
it wasnt until a few years ago that some government lawyer who probably wasnt born when the rico laws were passed saw that no where in the law it says the law applys only to mobsters. and then the government started using the rico laws against common citizens.
the sad thing is that any law that is passed to be used selectively againt one group of socity is clearly unconstitional