Category: Legal Reform

Mad About the Sprewell Case? Blame Labor Unions

National Policy Analysis #187 /
Basketball all-star Latrell Sprewell, fired by his team and suspended from play for a year by the NBA for choking his coach, had his sentence reduced and contract reinstated by the ruling of a union-mandated arbitrator. While the sporting world ...
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How Jury Duty Convinced Me That We Need a Moral President

National Policy Analysis #190 /
It was a mystery to me how Bill Clinton enjoys such high approval ratings in light of all of the scandals surrounding his presidency. Jury duty helped put things in perspective. I spent last week at the District of Columbia ...
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Legal Brief: Parents Cry Foul Ball in Bench Warming Case; Judge Drills Inmate for Frivolous Olive Oil Suit; Red-As-A-Lobster Lawyer Claws His Way to Court; Bakers Beware; Warning: Substances Thaw in Warm Temperatures

Parents Cry Foul Ball in Bench Warming CaseWhile some parents have for years been notorious sideline coaches at their kids' games, there may be a new game in town -- lawsuits. Outraged parents of a Gibsonberg, Ohio boy are suing ...
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Campaign Finance Laws Need a Tune-up, Not an Overhaul

National Policy Analysis #182 /
If you were asked to guess how many of the 535 member of Congress filed complete reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the 1996 elections, how many would you guess? All of them? A respectable 90%? Are you ...
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Legal Brief: Plaintiffs Get Zero, Lawyers $49 Million… With More to Come?; 0-24 on the Field, 1-0 in Court; It’s Dinosaur Versus Chicken in Trademark Lawsuit; Shush!

Plaintiffs Get Zero, Lawyers $49 Million... With More to Come?Will a settlement between the tobacco industry and flight attendants in a case alleging illness from secondhand smoke lead to other suits? This is the question legal analysts are asking as ...
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While Congress Debates, Citizens Legislate Campaign Finance Reform

National Policy Analysis #176 /
Grassroots activists are proving more successful than Congress in bringing about campaign finance reform. While the Senate is deadlocked amid squabbling over the spending caps and donor restrictions of the McCain-Feingold bill, crusaders outside the Beltway have already enacted measures ...
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Government Use of Contingency Fee Lawyers Works Against Public Interest

National Policy Analysis #175 /
Question: If on election day you were asked to chose between a political candidate who promised to work for a reasonable salary, and another candidate who wanted to be paid 25% of the government's receipts, an amount which could reach ...
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A Real “It’s a Wonderful Life,” by Chad Cowan

National Policy Analysis #179 /
This Christmas season, millions of Americans will watch Frank Capra's 1946 holiday classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." The movie tells the story of George Bailey, a kind and selfless executive of a struggling small town savings and loan, who, through ...
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Judge Rules Lawyers Won’t Be Paid Unless They Prove Their Work Benefits Public; Child’s Illness Demonstrates Need for Liability Reform; “Loser Pays” Serves Justice, Cases Show; Ludicrous Lawsuits

Legal Brief /
Judge Rules Lawyers Won't Be Paid Unless They Prove Their Work Benefits PublicShould lawyers make millions by suing a manufacturer to fix a problem the manufacturer has already fixed, fixed for free, and fixed although none of the customers noticed ...
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Legal Brief: Firm Penalized $2.5 Billion for Accident They Did Not Cause and in Which No One Was Hurt; Scientific Evidence Weak for Plaintiffs in Nation’s Largest Class Action Suit; Legal Reform Under Assault; Husband Asks Federal Court to Stop Wife from Smoking

Firm Penalized $2.5 Billion for Accident They Did not Cause and in Which No One Was HurtIn another example of bizarre jury verdicts, CSX Transportation (formerly Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad) has been found liable for $2.5 billion in punitive damages ...
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The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.