Critics say it's a case of the plaintiff in a lawsuit changing the law during the trial.
In early court action in the case last May, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Roger W. Brown dismissed 9 of Angelos's and the state's 13 counts in the lawsuit. This left four counts to be decided at trial. But Attorney General Curran now wants the state legislature to re-write state laws to essentially nullify Judge Brown's decision before the case comes to trial, so Maryland and Angelos will be more likely to win in court. He's urging the public to support these laws, Senate Bill 652 and House Bill 972, even going so far as to write and circulate on his official web site a sample letter to the editor in support of the legislation for Marylanders to copy, sign, and mail to newspapers as their own. The Attorney General and supporters of this bill should rethink this bill and their legal strategy against the tobacco companies.