And the trial lawyers are the most ardent in overseeing who fills and keeps judicial positions. Trial lawyers normally hate federal court, where rules are more strict and standards much higher, and where attorneys can be, and often are, sanctioned for filing frivolous lawsuits. Against the backdrop of the myriad state lawsuits filed by Democrats in Florida, and the call by the Gore campaign for even more trial lawyers to come and assist in the litigation battles there, the Bush campaign filed one legal action. It was filed in federal court as a challenge to the constitutional validity of the manual recount procedures in Florida and the absence in the statute of any objective standards for such recounts. The evidence to support the sole Republican lawsuit has unfolded on our television screens during the manual recounts conducted to date.
State courts are often a blank page to be filled in by the most clever manipulator in the courtroom.
Ballots should nonetheless be counted. And that's just one example of the kinds of cases the Democrats have filed. Republicans depart from their customary arguments in favor of federalism, decentralization of government power and devolution of authority to the states when civil justice system and lawsuit reform are at issue. Then, the parties switch sides and it is Republicans who prefer federal courts and uniform national standards and Democrats who fight vigorously to protect their state court fiefdoms. He who makes the rules wins the gold.