Posts by wpdev
Hidden Dangers in Cars
Automobiles have been closely tied to the law of torts for a century. There have been many automobile-related lawsuits, ranging from cases involving the operation of cars (who ran the stop sign?) to defects and dangers in the design and manufacture of the automobiles (and other motor vehicles) themselves. And because tort law is quality…
Read MoreShould ex-cons serve on juries?
Recently, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order, restoring the voting rights of roughly 200,000 convicts who have completed their sentences. Approximately 5,000 of those people have since registered to vote. In signing the order, Governor McAuliffe also made those former criminals eligible to serve on juries. In response, some Virginia prosecutors have asked…
Read MoreImportance of Juries, pt 1
The right of trial by jury is one of the jewels of the American system of government. For hundreds of years the right of trial by jury has been seen as a check, not only on the power of government; but also on the influence of the wealthy and powerful, or in today’s parlance, the 1%.
Read MoreIn Defense of Lawsuits
For years the American Chamber of Commerce has waged a war against the civil justice system. It is, after all, no big secret that the American Chamber of Commerce hates trial lawyers, and tort law; hates, in fact, the very idea of a system which hold wrongdoers accountable for causing injury, harm, and death.
Read More’98 Tobacco Settlement
November 1998 marked a pivotal moment in the history of cigarettes in the United States. Forty-six states and the four largest tobacco companies reached a landmark settlement that brought sweeping changes to cigarette manufacturers’ practices—and to rates of smoking. Since the settlement, cigarette smoking rates in the United States have been cut nearly in half.
Read MoreTyson Foods Update
At the beginning of the workday, some workers do not simply arrive and start working. Workers at the Tyson Foods, Inc., plant in Storm Lake, Iowa, first must put on protective and sanitation gear that is necessary for the tasks they are performing that day. The time they spent donning and doffing that gear is at the center of a case that the Supreme Court decided on March 22.
Read MoreShining a Light
Three of the most important purposes of tort law are: To compensate those who have been wrongly injured; To disclose the acts of wrongdoing that caused or cause harm; To deter wrongdoing in the future. Many of the exhibits at the American Museum of Tort Law reveal how powerful the second factor – disclosure –…
Read MoreFlint Water Crisis
Flint, Mich., is under national scrutiny because of its contaminated drinking water. Various mismanagement of the city’s drinking water supply has allowed dangerous levels of lead into people’s homes, workplaces, and schools.
Read MoreWeapon of the Weak
In his remarks at the opening of the American Museum of Tort Law, Pulitzer Prize winning historian Eric Foner stated that tort law is “the weapon of the weak.”
Read MoreHistory in the making
The law is not static. It changes and evolves as society changes. So a Museum dedicated to the law is not, and cannot be static, locked in time, and frozen.
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