Plaintiffs' Lawyers Reap Huge Dividends by Investing in Judges and Politicians by Doug Bandow Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. It is increasingly difficult to tell justice and politics apart.
Trial attorneys contribute to politicians who make plaintiff-friendly laws.
Beneficiaries of the resulting lawsuits contribute to the same politicians. Then the trial bar finances the campaigns of plaintiff-friendly judges, whose judgments underwrite the next round of political contributions. Among the more blatant examples is Microsoft, whose critics have been giving generously to Vice President Al Gore and other Democrats. More worrisome are contributions from attorneys to assure friendly courts. Consider the case of Ohio.