Perhaps you’ve read my article on Frivolous Lawsuits. I think we should be very suspicious when the government takes away our ability to appeal to the courts. Perhaps you’ve also read my article on Judicial Activism. I think it is disingenuous at best to label every judge you don’t agree with an activist. They see it differently; get on with it.

This new law that Bush just signed may not be the worst thing in the world. We want smart courts and it is possible that there are loopholes that don’t make sense. I don’t know that class action law suits are one of them, but I concede it is possible. There are lawyers whose best interest involves enticing people to join class actions. To me this is similar to something like the ACLU — a necessary but sometimes annoying check and balance.

What is worrisome to me about this new law that Bush signed is it is clearly the tip of the iceberg in terms of the intentions of this president and congress. The right wingers want to erode your ability to seek remedy in the courts. That is a bad thing. It is clearly the big money special interests that are pulling the strings here. There is no benefit to your average everyday American and yet they are silent. Big corporations just got it a little easier at your expense. This particular one just moves things from state to federal court — the cases with undeniable merit will still be heard. But this is the first of what looks to be a series of maneuvers to erode your access to remedy via the courts and that is not in your best interest. Even if you work for or own a big corporation, it is not in your interest. These cases aren’t all greedy lawyers and it is irresponsible to create legislation as if they are.