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Chamber: Stop lawsuits - but not ours  

The U.S. chamber of Commerce frequently backs efforts to curb lawsuits, something Chamber officials say is necessary to protect businesses.

"The last thing this country needs is more lawsuits sucking from the nation's economy," Chamber president and CEO Thomas J. Donohue said just days after the November election, warning that Democrats in the White House and congress could block tort reform efforts.

But in a recent letter from the Chamber's chief lobbyist R. Bruce Josten to Congress, the group urged lawmakers to protect the right of its member companies to sue.

Josten sent a letter the Washington lawmakers voicing concern about a provision in the proposed rescue plan for U.S. auto companies that would restrict the right of the companies from "participating in, pursuing, funding, or supporting in any way, any legal challenge (existing or contemplated) to State laws concerning greenhouse gas emission standards."

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Obama win bad for business?  

After Barack Obama's presidential victory and the loss of several Republican seats on Capitol Hill, groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began warning that the Democrats' agenda would be bad news for businesses.

But trial attorneys and consumer groups say planned changes are necessary to restore a "civil justice" system decimated by the outgoing Bush administration.

'Political payback'

The day after the election, Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, sent President-elect Obama a letter congratulating him and vowing to work with the administration to help fix the economy.

But one day later, Donohue held a press conference promising strong grassroots lobbying and legislative efforts to "oppose excessive taxes, lawsuits and union organizing rules" that he said would hurt business and amount to "political payback" for trial attorneys and unions. . . .

She said that a series of regulatory changes and executive orders limiting or eliminating the ability of plaintiffs to bring state law tort actions in areas subject to federal regulation were particularly concerning. . . .

"Manufacturers got the weakest possible rules on safety, and attached to it they got language that cut off consumers' remedies. They got their cake and they were able to eat it too," said Lipsen. "What we are trying to do is restore some balance."

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Anti-Drug TV Campaign Didn't Curb Teen Pot Use: Study 

Television ads that ran between 1999 and 2004 as part of the U.S. government's "National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign" do not appear to have dissuaded teens from smoking marijuana, a new study suggests.

In fact, researchers uncovered evidence indicating that the effort could possibly have had the reverse effect: sparking interest in marijuana among kids frequently exposed to the ads by implying that such drug use is common among their peers.

The study, led by Robert Hornik, from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, was expected to be published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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Debating the Subtle Sway of the Federalist Society 

In a new Washington ritual, President Bush has repeatedly drawn from the Federalist Society for cabinet members, senior aides and judges. And perhaps to deflect what many conservatives call unfair attacks by liberals, the nominees have repeatedly claimed to know little about the group's beliefs.

White House aides have worked hard to put distance between the society and John G. Roberts, the federal appeals judge Mr. Bush has nominated for the Supreme Court. They have even demanded corrections from newspapers that identified him as a member.

Then an old directory surfaced last week, listing Judge Roberts as part of one of the group's steering committees. The White House spokesmen clung to their line; since Judge Roberts had not, apparently, written a $25 membership check, he was not a formal member.

Who cares? Lots of people, it seems, because a fight over the influence of the Federalist Society is a proxy in the war over the federal judiciary and the Constitution itself. . . .

Kenneth W. Starr, the independent counsel whose report led to Mr. Clinton's impeachment, is a prominent member of the society, as is Theodore B. Olson, who successfully argued Bush v. Gore, the case that stopped the Florida recount in 2000 and ensured Mr. Bush's election.

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Justices attend annual Red Mass 

Five members of the U.S. Supreme Court were among those who on Sunday attended the annual Red Mass, held the day before the nation's highest court begins its fall term.

Four of the five Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court - Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas - attended the Mass presided over by Cardinal John Patrick Foley, a Vatican official. . . .

The Red Mass in Washington is sponsored by the John Carroll Society. The chief justice's wife Jane Roberts is listed as a member of the group's board of governors.

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Justices worship ahead of start of new term 

Justices worship ahead of start of new term List described as 'a little light on blockbuster cases' ASSOCIATED PRESS Monday, October 06, 2008

WASHINGTON — The law is a guide to an orderly society, an American cardinal said during a church service Sunday that was attended by five U.S. Supreme Court justices ahead of the start of their new term.

At the annual Red Mass, four of the five Roman Catholics on the high court — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas — came to worship at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle; the fifth, Justice Samuel Alito, did not attend. They were joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish.

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U.S. Justice Breyer Sheds Stocks, Can Hear More Cases (Update1) 

Justice Stephen Breyer and his wife are selling many of their three dozen stocks, letting him take part in more business cases and reducing the conflict-of-interest issues that bedeviled the U.S. Supreme Court in its last term.

Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg confirmed Breyer's stock sales today after the justice participated in the court's rejection of several appeals that would previously have posed a conflict for him. Those decisions were part of a list of orders the high court released as it opened its 2008-09 term in Washington.

Breyer and his wife ``intend to continue to sell shares'' in order to ``minimize the number of instances in which financial conflicts require recusal'' from a case, Arberg said.

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Supreme Court to take on scope of RICO 

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider narrowing the scope of a federal racketeering law often used against companies, agreeing to hear arguments from a man convicted of taking part in a series of bank burglaries.

The appeal by Edmond Boyle contends that, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, prosecutors must show an "ascertainable structure" distinct from the allegedly criminal conduct. Lower courts are divided on the question.

Business groups previously pressed similar arguments to limit a law that was originally aimed at mobsters who gained control of unions and other legitimate organizations.

RICO, as the 1970 law is known, has since been invoked in a variety of contexts, including the federal government's suit against the tobacco industry. It authorizes criminal penalties and triple damages in civil suits.

The Bush administration urged the Supreme Court not to hear the case, saying the text of RICO "does not include any 'ascertainable structure' requirement."

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Palin Team Opposed Divesting of Holdings to Protest Darfur  

Sarah Palin suggested that she was at the forefront of a campaign in Alaska to sell stock in companies that do business with Sudan in protest against the mass killing of civilians in the western part of the country. But the record shows that her administration was against the divestiture movement before it was for it. . . .

The Save Darfur Coalition has been urging states to divest of stocks from companies that do business with Sudan for the last two years, arguing that the investments "help fund genocide." An Alaska saving fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, has about $22 million invested in international trading companies, such as China Petroleum and Alstom of France, that do business with Sudanese oil interests.

Alaska Permanent Fund officials made clear from the outset that they were opposed to any divestiture effort. Executive director Mike Burns told an Anchorage TV station, KTUU, on Dec. 11 that the fund was looking for the "best return" on the investments and never took into account "socially responsible investments . . . whether it's tobacco or alcohol or hospitals that perform abortions or hospitals that don't perform abortions."

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STEIN: Obama’s Questionable Stimulus Plan  

I would argue that over the long term, oil companies' profits relative to sales are not above average for industrial or financial companies. But even if they were, why punish the owners of the oil companies, who are largely pension plans, group or individual, and individual investors? Why should we punish some American firefighters who own oil company stocks more than American firefighters who own drug company stocks or tobacco stocks? Why tax away the savings of some Americans because they happen to own a share in a company that supplies a totally legal, absolutely indispensable product like oil? I don't get that at all.

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Social factors key to ill health 

Social factors - rather than genetics - are to blame for huge variations in ill health and life expectancy around the world, a report concludes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has carried out a three-year analysis of the "social determinants" of health.

The report concludes "social injustice is killing people on a grand scale". . . .

The report, drawn up by an eminent panel of experts forming the WHO's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, found that, in almost all countries, poor socioeconomic circumstances equated to poor health.

The differences were so marked that genetics and biology could not begin to explain them.

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Researchers: Merck Vioxx study was designed to market the painkiller; company disputes that 

A 1999 Merck & Co. study of its since-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, touted to participating doctors and patients as meant to show whether Vioxx caused fewer stomach problems than another drug, was primarily a stealth marketing strategy, researchers report.

The true purpose was to get lots of doctors and patients in the habit of using Vioxx just in time for its launch, according to doctors who uncovered internal Merck memos discussing the strategy behind the study, called ADVANTAGE. They did so while reviewing roughly a million Merck documents for plaintiffs' lawyers preparing for trials in Vioxx lawsuits.

Drug companies are widely suspected of doing many such "seeding," or marketing studies, but there's been no "smoking gun" proving it before, according to the Annals of Internal Medicine, which published Merck's original report on ADVANTAGE in 2003 and will publish the new report Tuesday.

An accompanying editorial, co-authored by Annals editor Dr. Harold C. Sox, states the journal was not told the true purpose of ADVANTAGE

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Physicians' Group Responds to Smear Tactics by American Meat Institute and Tobacco/Meat Industry Front Group 

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) responds to news releases published recently by the "Center for Consumer Freedom" (CCF), a group funded by the tobacco, meat, and junk food industries, and the American Meat Institute (AMI), a meat-industry organization that promotes consumption of processed meats and other unhealthful products. . . .

According to exposes in major media outlets, CCF was founded by tobacco lobbyist Rick Berman with more than $3 million from Philip Morris and continues to receive funding from industries that market unhealthful products. Through CCF and other front groups, Berman has fought against stricter limits on legal blood-alcohol levels, improvements in minimum wage, health information for consumers, and other progressive efforts that his commercial clients view as contrary to their interests.

Over the past few years, CCF has escalated its attacks against organizations that warn the public about the health risks associated with alcohol, meat, and other junk food products. Berman has admitted publicly that his MO is to "shoot the messenger" by trying to disparage the credibility of his opponents. His employees do not attempt reasoned discussion of the scientific issues about health. The long list of public health advocates in CCF's line of fire includes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for speaking out against drunk driving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for tackling food safety, the World Health Organization for addressing obesity, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

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VCU administrators resign from leadership posts 

Several Virginia Commonwealth University administrators are stepping down following an investigation into the improper awarding of a bachelor's degree to Richmond's former police chief.

University officials confirmed the resignations but aren't linking them to the diploma investigation. . . .

The resignations come in light of double controversies, the Monroe degree and a task force looking into the implications of the university's acceptance of research contracts from tobacco giant Philip Morris USA.

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Wider impact for punitive damages ruling?  

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to drastically slash a punitive damages award against Exxon over the 1989 Valdez oil spill from $2.5 billion to $500 million has lawyers debating whether the ruling will have an impact on punitive damage awards beyond maritime cases. . . .

The Court held in a 5-3 decision that an appropriate punitive damages award should not exceed an amount equal to the compensatory damages in the case, which totaled $507.5 million.

However, the Court relied heavily on an analysis of punitive damages generally.

Some attorneys say the case has widespread implications.

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