The headquarters of the US Chamber of Commerce, located across from Lafayette Park in Washington, is a limestone structure that looks almost as majestic as the Il quartier generale della Camera di Commercio degli Stati Uniti, che si trova di fronte Lafayette Park di Washington, è una struttura calcarea che sembra quasi come il maestoso Supreme Court Corte suprema . The similarity is no coincidence: both buildings were designed by the same architect, Cass Gilbert. La somiglianza non è casuale: entrambi gli edifici sono stati progettati dallo stesso architetto, Cass Gilbert. Lately, however, the affinities between the court and the chamber, a lavishly financed business-advocacy organization, seem to be more than just architectural. Ultimamente, però, l'affinità tra il tribunale e la camera, un riccamente finanziato l'organizzazione di attività di advocacy-, sembrano essere più che solo architettonico. The Supreme Court term that ended last June was, by all measures, exceptionally good for American business. La Corte Suprema termine, che si concluse nel giugno scorso è stato, da tutte le misure che, eccezionalmente buono per business americano. The chamber’s litigation center filed briefs in 15 cases and its side won in 13 of them — the highest percentage of victories in the center’s 30-year history. La camera del contenzioso centro depositata slip in 15 casi e ha vinto il suo lato e 13 di loro - la più alta percentuale di vittorie nel centro di 30 anni di storia. The current term, which ends this summer, has also been shaping up nicely for business interests. L'attuale periodo, che si conclude questa estate, è stato anche per la forma ben interessi commerciali.

I visited the chamber recently to talk with Robin Conrad, who heads the litigation effort, about her recent triumphs. Ho visitato la camera di recente a parlare con Robin Conrad, che dirige il contenzioso sforzo, in merito alla sua recente trionfa. Conrad, an appealing, soft-spoken woman, lives with her family on a horse farm in Maryland, where she rides with a fox-chasing club called the Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds. Conrad, un appello, soft-spoken donna, vive con la sua famiglia in una fattoria di cavalli nel Maryland, dove corse con una caccia alla volpe-club chiamato Howard County-Ponte di Ferro Hounds. Her office, playfully adorned by action figures of women like Xena the Warrior Princess and Il suo ufficio, giocosamente azione ornata da figure di donne come Xena Principessa e il Guerriero Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Rodham Clinton , has one of the most impressive views in Washington. , È uno dei più impressionanti viste a Washington. “You can see the White House through the trees,” she said as we peered through a window overlooking the park. "Si può vedere la Casa Bianca attraverso gli alberi", come ci ha detto di peering attraverso una finestra si affaccia sul parco. “In the old days, you could actually see people bathing in the fountain. "In passato, si poteva vedere la gente di balneazione e la fontana. Homeless people.” Senzatetto ".

Conrad was in an understandably cheerful mood. Conrad era comprensibilmente in un umore allegro. Though the current Supreme Court has a well-earned reputation for divisiveness, it has been surprisingly united in cases affecting business interests. Anche se l'attuale Corte suprema ha una ben meritata reputazione per la divisione, è stata sorprendentemente uniti in casi che riguardano interessi commerciali. Of the 30 business cases last term, 22 were decided unanimously, or with only one or two dissenting votes. Dei 30 casi aziendali ultimo termine, 22 sono state decise all'unanimità, o con solo uno o due voti dissenzienti. Conrad said she was especially pleased that several of the most important decisions were written by liberal justices, speaking for liberal and conservative colleagues alike. Conrad si è detta particolarmente soddisfatto che molti dei più importanti decisioni sono state scritte da giudici liberali, parlando di colleghi liberali e conservatori uguali. In opinions last term, Pareri in ultimo termine, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Stephen Breyer and David Souter each went out of his or her way to question the use of lawsuits to challenge corporate wrongdoing — a strategy championed by progressive groups like , Stephen Breyer e David Souter ogni uscì del suo modo di mettere in dubbio l'utilizzo di azioni legali per contestare aziendale illecito - una strategia progressiva promosso da gruppi come Public Citizen Public Citizen but routinely denounced by conservatives as “regulation by litigation.” Conrad reeled off some of her favorite moments: “Justice Ginsburg talked about how ‘private-securities fraud actions, if not adequately contained, can be employed abusively.’ Justice Breyer had a wonderful quote about how Congress was trying to ‘weed out unmeritorious securities lawsuits.’ Justice Souter talked about how the threat of litigation ‘will push cost-conscious defendants to settle.’ ” Ma di routine, come denunciato da conservatori "regolamento di contenzioso". Conrad reeled off alcuni momenti della sua preferita: "Giustizia Ginsburg parlato come 'privato titoli frode azioni, se non adeguatamente contenuti, può essere impiegato abusivamente.' Giustizia Breyer ha avuto un meraviglioso Citazione su come Congresso è stato il tentativo di 'eliminare le cause unmeritorious titoli.' Giustizia Souter parlato di come la minaccia di un contenzioso 'spingere costi imputati a risolvere.' "

Examples like these point to an ideological sea change on the Supreme Court. Esempi come questi punto ad un cambiamento ideologico mare sulla Corte Suprema. A generation ago, progressive and consumer groups petitioning the court could count on favorable majority opinions written by justices who viewed big business with skepticism — or even outright prejudice. Una generazione fa, progressiva e le associazioni dei consumatori chiedendo al giudice di poter contare sulla maggioranza favorevole pareri scritti da giudici che hanno visitato le grandi imprese con scetticismo - o addirittura apertamente pregiudizi. An economic populist like William O. Douglas, the former New Deal crusader who served on the court from 1939 to 1975, once unapologetically announced that he was “ready to bend the law in favor of the environment and against the corporations.” Un punto di vista economico populista come William O. Douglas, l'ex New Deal crociato che hanno servito il giudice da 1939 al 1975, una volta unapologetically ha annunciato che "era pronto a piegare la legge in favore dell 'ambiente e contro la società".

Today, however, there are no economic populists on the court, even on the liberal wing. Oggi, tuttavia, non ci sono populisti economica al giudice, anche sulla ala liberale. And ever since E, da allora, John Roberts John G. Roberts was appointed chief justice in 2005, the court has seemed only more receptive to business concerns. È stato nominato capo della giustizia nel 2005, il giudice ha solo sembrava più ricettivi alle imprese preoccupazioni. Forty percent of the cases the court heard last term involved business interests, up from around 30 percent in recent years. Quaranta per cento dei casi, il giudice sentito termine ultimo coinvolti interessi economici, da circa il 30 per cento negli ultimi anni. While the Rehnquist Court heard less than one antitrust decision a year, on average, between 1988 and 2003, the Roberts Court has heard seven in its first two terms — and all of them were decided in favor of the corporate defendants. Mentre la Corte Rehnquist sentito meno di una decisione antitrust un anno, in media, tra il 1988 e il 2003, la Corte ha ascoltato Roberts sette e le sue prime due termini - e tutti loro sono stati decisi in favore di società imputati.

Business cases at the Supreme Court typically receive less attention than cases concerning issues like affirmative action, abortion or the death penalty. Business casi presso la Corte suprema di solito ricevono meno attenzione di casi riguardanti questioni come affirmative action, l'aborto o la pena di morte. The disputes tend to be harder to follow: the legal arguments are more technical, the underlying stories less emotional. Le controversie tendono ad essere più difficile da seguire: le argomentazioni giuridiche sono più tecnici, le storie meno emotivo. But these cases — which include shareholder suits, antitrust challenges to corporate mergers, patent disputes and efforts to reduce punitive-damage awards and prevent product-liability suits — are no less important. Ma questi casi - che comprendono azionista adatto, per le sfide aziendali antitrust, fusioni, le controversie sui brevetti e gli sforzi per ridurre i danni punitivi-premi e prevenire il prodotto adatto alle responsabilità - non sono meno importanti. They involve billions of dollars, have huge consequences for the economy and can have a greater effect on people’s daily lives than the often symbolic battles of the culture wars. Essi coinvolgono miliardi di dollari, hanno enormi conseguenze per l'economia e può avere un maggiore effetto sulla vita quotidiana dei cittadini rispetto alle battaglie spesso simbolico della cultura guerre. In the current Supreme Court term, the justices have already blocked a liability suit against Medtronic, the manufacturer of a heart catheter, and rejected a type of shareholder suit that includes a claim against Enron. Nel corrente Corte Suprema termine, il giudici hanno già bloccato una responsabilità soddisfare contro Medtronic, il fabbricante di un catetere cuore, e ha respinto un tipo di seme azionista che include un credito nei confronti di Enron. In the coming months, the court will decide whether to reduce the largest punitive-damage award in American history, which resulted from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. Nei prossimi mesi, il giudice a decidere se ridurre il più grande premio danni punitivi-e storia americana, che ha causato dalla Exxon Valdez sversamento di idrocarburi nel 1989.

What should we make of the Supreme Court’s transformation? Che cosa dobbiamo fare della Corte suprema di trasformazione? Throughout its history, the court has tended to issue opinions, in areas from free speech to gender equality, that reflect or consolidate a social consensus. Nel corso della sua storia, il giudice ha la tendenza ad emettere pareri, in zone libere dal discorso alla parità di genere, che riflettono o consolidare un consenso sociale. With their pro-business jurisprudence, the justices may be capturing an emerging spirit of agreement among liberal and conservative elites about the value of free markets. Con i loro pro-business giurisprudenza, i giudici possono essere l'acquisizione di un nuovo spirito di accordo tra liberali e conservatori élite circa il valore del libero mercato. Among the professional classes, many Democrats and Republicans, whatever their other disagreements, have come to share a relatively laissez-faire, technocratic vision of the economy and are suspicious of excessive regulation and reflexive efforts to vilify big business. Tra le categorie professionali, molti democratici e repubblicani, di qualunque altro disaccordi, sono venuti a parti relativamente al laissez-faire, visione tecnocratica dell'economia e sono sospetti di eccessiva regolamentazione e riflessivo vilify sforzi per grandi imprese. Judges, lawyers and law professors (such as myself) drilled in cost-benefit analysis over the past three decades, are no exception. Giudici, avvocati e professori di diritto (come me), perforato e analisi costi-benefici nel corso degli ultimi tre decenni, non fanno eccezione. It should come as little surprise that John Roberts and Stephen Breyer, both of whom studied the economic analysis of law at Harvard, have similar instincts in business cases. Dovrebbe venire come piccola sorpresa che John Roberts e Stephen Breyer, sia di chi ha studiato l'analisi economica del diritto a Harvard, hanno istinti in attività simili casi.

This elite consensus, however, is not necessarily shared by the country as a whole. Questa élite consenso, tuttavia, non è necessariamente condiviso da tutto il Paese. If anything, America may be entering something of a populist moment. Se mai, l'America può essere qualcosa di entrare populista di un attimo. If you combine the groups of Americans in a recent Pew survey who lean toward some strain of economic populism — from disaffected and conservative Democrats to traditional liberals to social and big-government conservatives — at least two-thirds of all voters arguably feel sympathy for government intervention in the economy. Se si combinano i gruppi di americani, in un recente sondaggio Pew magra che verso alcuni ceppo di populismo economico - da poco e conservatori liberali democratici tradizionali per grandi e sociale del governo-conservatori - almeno i due terzi di tutti gli elettori si sentono forse per la simpatia del governo Intervento in economia. Could it be, then, that the court is reflecting an elite consensus while contravening the sentiments of most Americans? Potrebbe essere, quindi, che il tribunale sta riflettendo un'élite contravvenendo consenso, mentre i sentimenti della maggior parte degli americani? Only history will ultimately make this clear. Solo alla fine della storia sia ben chiaro. One thing, however, is certain already: the transformation of the court was no accident. Una cosa, comunque, è già certa: la trasformazione della corte non era incidente. It represents the culmination of a carefully planned, behind-the-scenes campaign over several decades to change not only the courts but also the country’s political culture. Esso rappresenta il culmine di un attentamente pianificato, dietro le quinte della campagna per diversi decenni di cambiare non solo i giudici ma anche la cultura politica del paese.

II. II.

The origins of the business community’s campaign to transform the Supreme Court can be traced back precisely to Aug. 23, 1971. Le origini della comunità imprenditoriale della campagna per trasformare la Corte suprema si possono far risalire con precisione al 23 agosto, 1971. That was the day when Lewis F. Powell Jr., a corporate lawyer in Richmond, Va., wrote a memo to his friend Eugene B. Snydor, then the head of the education committee of the US Chamber of Commerce. Questo è stato il giorno in cui Lewis F. Powell Jr, un avvocato aziendale in Richmond, in Virginia, ha scritto un memo al suo amico Eugene B. Snydor, poi il capo della commissione istruzione della Camera di Commercio degli Stati Uniti. In the memo, Powell expressed his concern that the American economic system was “under broad attack.” He identified several aggressors: the New Left, the liberal media, rebellious students on college campuses and, most important, E il memo, Powell ha espresso la sua preoccupazione per il fatto che il sistema economico americano è stato "sotto attacco ampio". Egli ha individuato diversi aggressori: la Nuova Sinistra, il liberale media, ribelle studenti del college campus e, più importante, Ralph Nader Ralph Nader . Earlier that year, Nader founded Public Citizen to advocate for consumer rights, bring antitrust actions when the Justice Department did not and sue federal agencies when they failed to adopt health and safety regulations. All'inizio di quello stesso anno, Public Citizen Nader fondata a difendere i diritti dei consumatori, antitrust portare azioni quando il Dipartimento di Giustizia non denunciare e agenzie federali, quando omesso di adottare le norme di sicurezza e di salute.

Powell claimed that this attack on the economic system was “quite new in the history of America.” Ever since 1937, when President Powell ha affermato che questo tipo di attacco, il sistema economico è stato "abbastanza nuovo nella storia d'America. 1937, quando il presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt threatened to pack a conservative Supreme Court with more progressive justices, the court had largely deferred to federal and state economic regulations. Pack minacciato di un conservatore Corte Suprema con più progressista giudici, il giudice aveva ampiamente differita statali e federali di regolamentazione economica. And by the ’60s, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren had embraced a form of economic populism, often favoring the interests of small business over big business, even at the expense of consumers. E dagli anni'60, la Suprema Corte, a norma Chief Justice Earl Warren aveva abbracciato una forma di populismo economico, spesso favorendo gli interessi delle piccole imprese più grandi imprese, anche a scapito dei consumatori. But what Powell saw in the work of Nader and others was altogether more extreme: a radical campaign that was “broadly based and consistently pursued.” Ma quello che Powell ha visto nel lavoro di Nader e gli altri è stato tutto più estremo: una radicale campagna che è stata "ampio e costantemente perseguito".

To counter the growing influence of public-interest litigation groups like Public Citizen, Powell urged the Chamber of Commerce to begin a multifront lobbying campaign on behalf of business interests, including hiring top business lawyers to bring cases before the Supreme Court. Per contrastare la crescente influenza di interesse pubblico contenzioso gruppi come Public Citizen, Powell ha esortato la Camera di Commercio multifront per iniziare una campagna di lobbying per conto di interessi commerciali, compresa l'assunzione top business avvocati di adire la Corte suprema. “The judiciary,” Powell predicted, “may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change.” Two months after he wrote the memo, Powell was appointed by "Il potere giudiziario," Powell previsto, "potrebbe essere lo strumento più importante per l'integrazione sociale, economica e politica cambiamento." Due mesi dopo aver scritto il memo, Powell è stato nominato da Richard Nixon Richard Nixon to the Supreme Court. Alla Corte suprema. And six years later, in 1977, after steadily expanding its lobbying efforts, the chamber established the National Chamber Litigation Center to file cases and briefs on behalf of business interests in federal and state courts. E sei anni più tardi, nel 1977, dopo la sua costante espansione sforzi di lobbying, la Camera ha istituito il Centro Nazionale Sezione Contenzioso casi di file e slip a nome di interessi economici e tribunali statali e federali.

Today, the Chamber of Commerce is an imposing lobbying force. Oggi, la Camera di Commercio è un imponente lobby vigore. To fulfill its mission of serving “the unified interests of American business,” it collects membership dues from more than three million businesses and related organizations; last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the chamber spent more than $21 million lobbying the White House, Congress and regulatory agencies on legal matters. Per compiere la sua missione di servire "gli interessi degli americani unificato business", che raccoglie le quote di adesione da parte di più di tre milioni di imprese e le relative organizzazioni; l'anno scorso, secondo il Centro per la Politica riconoscente, la camera ha speso più di $ 21 milioni di lobbying bianco Casa, il Congresso e le agenzie di regolamentazione su questioni giuridiche. But its battle against the forces of Naderism got off to a slow start. Ma la sua battaglia contro le forze del Naderism avuto un avvio lento. In 1983, when Robin Conrad arrived at the chamber, the Supreme Court was handing Nader and his allies significant victories. Nel 1983, quando Robin Conrad arrivati in camera, la Corte Suprema è stata consegna Nader e dei suoi alleati importanti vittorie. That year, for example, the court held that Anno che, per esempio, la Corte ha ritenuto che President Reagan Presidente Reagan ’s secretary of transportation, Andrew L. Lewis Jr., acted capriciously when he repealed a regulation, inspired by Nader’s advocacy, that required automakers to install passive restraints like air bags. 'S segretario di trasporto, Andrew L. Lewis Jr, quando ha agito capriciously abrogare un regolamento, ispirato da Nader il patrocinio, che ha richiesto di installare automobilistici passiva restrizioni come l'air bag. In 1986, the chamber supported a challenge to the Nel 1986, la camera sostenuto una sfida per la Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency ’s aerial surveillance of a Dow Chemical plant. 'S sorveglianza aerea di un impianto di Dow Chemical. The chamber’s side lost, 5-4. La camera parte perso, 5-4.

But eventually, things began to change. Ma alla fine, le cose cominciarono a cambiare. The chamber started winning cases in part by refining its strategy. La camera ha iniziato vincendo casi, in parte, la sua strategia di raffinazione. With Conrad’s help, the chamber’s Supreme Court litigation program began to offer practice moot-court arguments for lawyers scheduled to argue important cases. Con l'aiuto di Conrad, la camera della Corte Suprema contenzioso programma ha iniziato a offrire pratica moot-court argomenti per gli avvocati sostengono prevista per casi importanti. The chamber also began hiring the most-respected Democratic and Republican Supreme Court advocates to persuade the court to hear more business cases. La camera ha inoltre avviato l'affitto più rispettati-democratica e repubblicana Suprema Corte raccomanda di convincere il giudice di ascoltare di più i casi di attività. Although many of the businesses that belong to the Chamber of Commerce have their own in-house lawyers, they would have the chamber file “friend of the court” briefs on their behalf. Sebbene molte delle imprese che appartengono alla Camera di Commercio hanno il loro in-house avvocati, che avrebbe il file da camera "amico della corte" slip per loro conto. The chamber would decide which of the many cases brought to its attention were in the long-term strategic interest of American business and then hire the leading business lawyers to write supporting briefs or argue the case. La camera potrebbe decidere quale dei molti casi portati alla sua attenzione sono state a lungo termine interesse strategico americano di business e quindi le principali società di noleggio avvocati di scrivere sostegno slip o sostengono il caso.

Until the mid-’80s, there wasn’t an organized group of law firms that specialized in arguing business cases before the Supreme Court. Fino alla metà degli anni'80, non vi è stato un organizzato gruppo di studi legali specializzati in sostenendo che i casi di attività prima che la Corte Suprema. But in 1985, Rex Lee, the solicitor general under Reagan, left the government to start a Supreme Court appellate practice at the firm Sidley Austin. Ma nel 1985, Rex Lee, l'avvocato generale, sotto Reagan, il governo di sinistra per iniziare una pratica Suprema Corte di appello presso la ditta Sidley Austin. Lee’s goal was to offer business clients the same level of expert representation before the Supreme Court that the solicitor general’s office provides to federal agencies. Lee's obiettivo era di offrire alle aziende clienti lo stesso livello di esperti rappresentanza dinanzi alla Corte suprema che l'avvocato generale fornisce l'ufficio di agenzie federali. Lee’s success prompted other law firms to hire former Supreme Court clerks and former members of the solicitor general’s office to start business practices. Lee's successo richiesto altri studi legali a noleggio Corte Suprema ex cancellieri ed ex membri della avvocato generale, l'ufficio per avviare le pratiche commerciali. The Chamber of Commerce, for its part, began to coordinate the strategy of these lawyers in the most important business cases. La Camera di Commercio, da parte sua, ha cominciato a coordinare la strategia di questi avvocati e gli affari più importanti casi.

At times, the strategic calculations can be quite personal. A volte, i calcoli strategici possono essere molto personali. Because Supreme Court clerks have tremendous influence in making recommendations about what cases the court should hear, Conrad told me, having well-known former clerks involved in submitting a brief can be especially important. Corte Suprema perché cancellieri hanno enorme influenza e la formulazione di raccomandazioni su quali casi il giudice dovrebbe ascoltare, Conrad mi ha detto, dopo aver conosciuto l'ex cancellieri coinvolti nella presentazione di una breve può essere particolarmente importante. “When Justice O’Connor was on the bench and we knew her vote was very important, we had a case where the opposition had her favorite clerk on the brief, so we retained her next-favorite clerk,” she said with a laugh. "Quando la giustizia O'Connor è stato sulla panchina e noi conosceva il suo voto è stato molto importante, abbiamo avuto un caso in cui l'opposizione ha avuto il suo preferito impiegato sul breve, per cui abbiamo mantenuto la sua prossima preferito cancelliere", ha detto con una risata. “We won.” "Abbiamo vinto".

In our conversation, Conrad was especially enthusiastic about Maureen Mahoney, a former clerk for Chief Nella nostra conversazione, Conrad era particolarmente entusiasta Maureen Mahoney, un ex impiegato per Editore Justice Rehnquist Giustizia Rehnquist and one of the top Supreme Court litigators who coordinate strategy with the chamber. E uno dei top Corte Suprema litigators coordinare la strategia che con la camera. When Mahoney agreed in 2005 to represent an appeal by the disgraced accounting firm Arthur Andersen, which was convicted in 2002 of obstructing justice by shredding documents related to the audit of Enron, few people thought the Supreme Court would take the case. Quando Mahoney concordato nel 2005 per rappresentare un appello da parte della ditta disgraced contabili Arthur Andersen, che è stato condannato nel 2002 di ostacolare la giustizia da triturazione documenti relativi alla revisione contabile della Enron, poche persone pensiero la Corte Suprema avrà il caso. “The climate was very anti-Enron,” Mahoney told me, “and it was viewed as a doomed petition.” "Il clima è stato molto anti-Enron", Mahoney mi ha detto, "e che è stato considerato come un condannato petizione".

Mahoney rehearsed her Supreme Court argument in a moot court sponsored by the chamber. Mahoney provato la sua argomentazione della Corte suprema in un tribunale moot sponsorizzato da camera. (“She was absolutely dazzling,” Conrad recalls.) On April 27, 2005, Mahoney stood calmly before the justices and delivered one of the best oral arguments I’ve ever seen at the Supreme Court. ( "E 'stata assolutamente abbagliante", ricorda Conrad.) Il 27 aprile 2005, Mahoney stava tranquillamente davanti al giudici e consegnato una delle migliori difese orali ho mai visto alla Corte suprema. She argued that because Arthur Andersen’s accountants had followed a standard document-destruction procedure before receiving the government’s subpoena, they couldn’t be guilty of a crime; they weren’t aware what they were doing was criminal. Ha sostenuto che, a causa di Arthur Andersen ragionieri aveva seguito un documento standard-distruzione procedura prima di ricevere la citazione del governo, che non poteva essere colpevole di un reato; esse non erano al corrente di ciò che stavano facendo era criminale. The Supreme Court unanimously agreed and reversed the conviction, 9-0. La Corte suprema ha deciso all'unanimità e invertito la convinzione, 9-0.

The Arthur Andersen case is a good example of how significantly the Supreme Court has changed its attitude about cases involving securities fraud — and business cases more generally — from the Warren to the Roberts era. Arthur Andersen, il caso è un buon esempio di come significativamente la Corte Suprema ha cambiato il suo atteggiamento su casi di frode titoli - e le imprese, più in generale, i casi - dal Warren per la Roberts era. In a case in 1964, the court ruled that aggrieved investors and consumers could file private lawsuits to enforce the securities laws, even in cases in which Congress hadn’t explicitly created a right to sue. In un caso, nel 1964, la corte ha stabilito che i consumatori e gli investitori danneggiato potrebbe file privati legali per far rispettare le leggi di valori mobiliari, anche nei casi in cui il Congresso non aveva esplicitamente creato un diritto di adire le vie legali. In the mid-1990s, however, Congress substantially cut back on these citizen suits, and the court today has shown little patience for them. A metà degli anni 1990, tuttavia, il Congresso sostanzialmente ridotto il cittadino su questi abiti, e il giudice di oggi ha dimostrato po 'di pazienza per loro. Mahoney says she sees her victory in the Arthur Andersen case as significant because it applied the same principle in criminal cases involving corporate wrongdoing that the court had already been recognizing in civil cases: namely, “refusing to create greater damage remedies or criminal penalties than Congress has explicitly specified.” She describes the case as “a very important win for business.” Mahoney dice che vede la sua vittoria e la Arthur Andersen come caso significativo, perché lo stesso principio applicato in casi penali che coinvolgono aziende illecito che il giudice era già stato riconoscendo in cause civili: e cioè, "rifiutando di creare una maggiore danno rimedi o sanzioni penali più Congresso Ha esplicitamente specificato. "Ha descritto il caso come" una vittoria molto importante per le imprese. "

This term, the Supreme Court has continued to cut back on consumer suits. Questo termine, la Corte suprema ha continuato a ridurre il consumo adatto. In a ruling in January, the court refused to allow a shareholder suit against the suppliers to Charter Communications, one of the country’s largest cable companies. In una sentenza in gennaio, il tribunale ha rifiutato di consentire un azionista di soddisfare contro la Carta dei fornitori di comunicazioni, uno dei paesi più grandi aziende del cavo. The suppliers were alleged to have “aided and abetted” Charter’s efforts to inflate its earnings, but the court held that Charter’s investors had to show that they had relied on the deceptive acts committed by the suppliers before the suit could proceed. I fornitori sono stati avrebbe "aiutato e abetted" Carta sforzi per gonfiare i suoi guadagni, ma il giudice ha ritenuto che gli investitori avevano Carta di dimostrare che avevano invocato l'ingannevole atti commessi dai fornitori prima che il seme possa procedere. A week later, the court invoked the same principle when it refused to hear an appeal in a case related to Enron, in which investors are trying to recover $40 billion from Wall Street banks that they claim aided and abetted Enron’s fraud. Una settimana più tardi, il giudice ha invocato lo stesso principio, quando ha rifiutato di esaminare il ricorso in un caso relativo alla Enron, in cui gli investitori stanno cercando di recuperare i 40 miliardi di dollari da Wall Street banche che sostengono aided abetted Enron e la frode. As a result, the shareholder suit against the banks may be dead. Come risultato, l'azionista di soddisfare contro le banche potrebbero essere morti.

III. III.

In addition to litigating cases before the court, the Chamber of Commerce also lobbies Congress and the White House in an effort to change the composition of the court itself. In aggiunta ai casi litigating davanti al giudice, la Camera di Commercio anche lobby Congresso e la Casa Bianca, nel tentativo di cambiare la composizione del tribunale stesso. (Unlike many other government officials, the justices themselves are not, of course, subject to direct corporate lobbying.) The chamber’s efforts in this area were inspired by (A differenza di molti altri funzionari di governo, i giudici stessi non sono, ovviamente, suscettibili di diretta aziendale di lobbying.) La camera di sforzi in questo settore sono stati ispirati da Robert Bork Robert Bork ’s thwarted nomination to the court in 1987. 'S sventato nomina al tribunale nel 1987. Business groups were enthusiastic about Bork — not because of his conservative social views but because of his skepticism of vigorous antitrust enforcement. Business gruppi sono stati entusiasti Bork - non a causa delle sue opinioni conservatrici sociale, ma a causa della sua forte scetticismo di norme antitrust. “In reaction to the Bork nomination, it struck us that we didn’t even have a process in place to be a player,” Conrad said. "In reazione alla nomina Bork, che ci ha colpito, ma che non abbiamo ancora un processo in atto da un giocatore", ha detto Conrad.

So the chamber set up a formal process for endorsing candidates after their nominations. Pertanto, la camera di istituire un processo formale per avallare candidati dopo la loro candidature. The process was designed to be bipartisan; and the chamber has encouraged Democratic as well as Republican presidents to appoint justices. Il processo è stato progettato per essere bipartisan, e la camera ha incoraggiato democratica e repubblicana, come presidenti di nominare giudici. Nominees are evaluated solely through the prism of their views about business. Candidati vengono valutati esclusivamente attraverso il prisma della loro punti di vista sul business. “We’re very surgical in our analysis,” Conrad said. "Siamo molto chirurgico e la nostra analisi", ha detto Conrad.

After the election of Dopo l'elezione del Bill Clinton Bill Clinton , for example, the chamber endorsed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who in addition to her pioneering achievements as the head of the women’s rights project at the ACLU had specialized, as a law professor, in the procedural rules in complex civil cases and was comfortable with the finer points of business litigation. , Per esempio, la camera ha approvato Ruth Bader Ginsburg, che al di là della sua pionieristica realizzazioni come il capo del progetto, i diritti delle donne presso l'ACLU ha avuto specializzati, come un professore di diritto, e le norme procedurali in materia civile casi complessi e confortevole è stato Con i punti più significativi di business contenzioso. The chamber was especially enthusiastic about Clinton’s second nominee, Stephen Breyer, who made his name building a bipartisan consensus for airline deregulation as a special counsel on the judiciary committee; and who, as a Harvard Law professor, advocated an influential and moderate view on antitrust enforcement. La camera era particolarmente entusiasta di Clinton secondo candidato, Stephen Breyer, che ha fatto il suo nome la costruzione di un consenso bipartisan per la compagnia aerea deregolamentazione come consulente speciale alla magistratura commissione, e che, come un professore di Diritto di Harvard, raccomanda un influente e moderata vista Sulle norme antitrust.

During Breyer’s confirmation hearings his sharpest critic was Ralph Nader, who testified that his pro-business rulings were “extraordinarily one-sided.” Another critic, Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio, said that the fact that the chamber was the first organization to endorse Breyer indicated that “large corporations are very pleased with this nomination” and “the fact that Ralph Nader is opposed to it indicated that the average American has a reason to have some concern.” The chamber’s imprimatur helped reassure Republicans about Breyer, and he was confirmed with a vote of 87 to 9. Breyer, durante la sua audizione di conferma del nitida critico è stato Ralph Nader, che testimoniò che il suo pro-business sono state sentenze "straordinariamente unilaterale". Un altro critico, il senatore Howard Metzenbaum di Ohio, ha detto che il fatto che la camera è stata la prima organizzazione a Avallare Breyer ha indicato che "le grandi società sono molto soddisfatto di questa nomina" e "il fatto che Ralph Nader si oppone ad esso indicato che l'americano medio ha un motivo per avere qualche preoccupazione." La camera's imprimatur contribuito a rassicurare i repubblicani circa Breyer, Ed è stato confermato con un voto di 87 a 9. “Frankly, we didn’t feel like we had anyone on the court since Justice Powell who truly understood business issues,” Conrad told me. "Francamente, non abbiamo voglia di chiunque abbiamo avuto sulla giustizia dal giudice Powell, che ha veramente capito questioni aziendali", mi ha detto Conrad. “Justice Breyer came close to that.” "Giustizia Breyer, è venuto vicino a quello".

The Breyer and Ginsburg nominations also came at a time when liberal as well as conservative judges and academics were gravitating in increasing numbers to an economic approach to the law, originally developed at the Ginsburg e Breyer La nomination è venuto anche in un momento in cui liberali e conservatori, come i giudici e gli studiosi che gravita erano in un numero crescente di un approccio economico alla legge, originariamente sviluppato presso il University of Chicago University of Chicago . The law-and-economics movement sought to evaluate the efficiency of legal rules based on their costs and benefits for society as a whole. La legge-e-economia movimento ha cercato di valutare l'efficacia delle norme giuridiche in base ai loro costi e benefici per la società nel suo complesso. Although originally conservative in its orientation, the movement also attracted prominent moderate and liberal scholars and judges like Breyer, who before his nomination wrote two books on regulation, arguing that government health-and-safety spending is distorted by sensational media reports of disasters that affect relatively few citizens. Sebbene inizialmente conservatore e il suo orientamento, il movimento ha attirato anche eminenti studiosi moderata e liberale e come giudici Breyer, che prima della sua nomina ha scritto due libri sulla regolamentazione, sostenendo che il governo di salute e di sicurezza è distorta dalla spesa media sensazionale rapporti di catastrofi che colpiscono Relativamente pochi cittadini.

Since joining the Supreme Court, Breyer has also been an intellectual leader in antitrust and patent disputes, which often pit business against business, rather than business against consumers. Dal momento che l'adesione alla Corte suprema, Breyer, è stato anche un intellettuale e leader nel settore antitrust brevetto controversie, che spesso pit imprese contro le imprese, piuttosto che di attività contro i consumatori. In those cases, many liberal scholars sympathetic to economic analysis have applauded the court for favoring competition rather than existing competitors, innovation rather than particular innovators. In questi casi, molti studiosi liberali in sintonia con l'analisi economica hanno applaudito il tribunale per la concorrenza favorendo piuttosto che concorrenti esistenti, piuttosto che l'innovazione particolare innovatori. “The court deserves credit for trying to rationalize a totally irrational patent system, benefiting smaller new competitors rather than existing big ones,” says "Il giudice merita di credito per cercare di razionalizzare uno totalmente irrazionale sistema dei brevetti, che beneficiano nuovi concorrenti più piccoli, piuttosto che quelli esistenti grande", spiega Lawrence Lessig Lawrence Lessig , an intellectual-property scholar at Stanford. , Uno studioso di proprietà intellettuale-a Stanford.

Clinton’s nominations of Ginsburg and Breyer may have been welcomed by the chamber, but with the election of Clinton's candidature di Ginsburg e Breyer, potrebbe essere stato accolto da camera, ma con l'elezione di George W. Bush George W. Bush , the chamber faced a dilemma. , La camera di fronte a un dilemma. Ever since the Reagan administration, there had been a divide on the right wing of the court between pragmatic free-market conservatives, who tended to favor business interests, and ideological states-rights conservatives. Fin da quando l'amministrazione Reagan, vi era stata una divisione sulla destra del tribunale pragmatico tra libero mercato conservatori, che tendono a favorire interessi economici, ideologici e di diritti di Stati-conservatori. In some business cases, these two strands of conservatism diverged, leading the most staunch states-rights conservatives on the court, In alcuni casi aziendali, questi due filoni di conservatorismo divergenti, che porta il più fedele afferma-conservatori sui diritti del tribunale, Antonin Scalia Antonin Scalia and E Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas , to rule against business interests. , A pronunciarsi contro interessi commerciali. Scalia and Thomas were reluctant to second-guess large punitive-damage verdicts by state juries, for example, or to hold that federally regulated cigarette manufacturers could not be sued in state court. Scalia e Thomas erano riluttanti a seconda indovinare grandi danni punitivi-verdetti da giurie stato, per esempio, o ritenere che i fabbricanti di sigarette regolamentato federale non potrebbe essere stato citato in tribunale. As a result, under Conrad’s leadership, the chamber began a vigorous campaign to urge the Bush administration to appoint pro-business conservatives. Come risultato, sotto la guida di Conrad, la camera ha cominciato una vigorosa campagna per sollecitare l'amministrazione Bush di nominare pro-business conservatori.

When it came time to replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Quando è venuto il momento di sostituire Chief Justice William Rehnquist e giustizia Sandra Day O’Connor Sandra Day O'Connor , the candidate most enthusiastically supported by states-rights conservatives, Judge Michael Luttig, had a record on the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that some corporate interests feared might make him unpredictable in business cases. , Il candidato sostenuto da più entusiasmo-afferma diritti conservatori, Giudice Michael Luttig, aveva un record alla Corte d'Appello per la quarta Circuito interessi corporativi che alcuni temevano potrebbe renderlo imprevedibile e casi aziendali. (“One of my constant refrains is that being conservative doesn’t necessarily mean being pro-business,” Conrad told me.) The chamber and other business groups enthusiastically supported John Roberts, who had been hired by the chamber to write briefs in two Supreme Court cases in 2001 and 2002. ( "Uno dei miei costante astiene è che essere conservatore non significa necessariamente essere pro-business", mi ha detto Conrad.) La camera di business e di altri gruppi sostenuto con entusiasmo John Roberts, che era stato assunto dalla camera di scrivere slip in due Corte Suprema dei casi nel 2001 e nel 2002. At the time of Roberts’s nomination, Thomas Goldstein, a prominent Supreme Court litigator, described him as “the go-to lawyer for the business community,” adding “of all the candidates, he is the one they knew best.” When Roberts was nominated, business groups lobbied senators as part of the campaign for his confirmation. Al momento della nomina di Roberts, Thomas Goldstein, un prominente Corte Suprema litigator, lui descritto come "il go-a avvocato per la business community", aggiungendo "di tutti i candidati, egli è colui che conoscevano meglio." Quando Roberts è stato nominato, gruppi di lobby d'affari senatori, come parte della campagna per la sua conferma.

The business community was also enthusiastic about La comunità imprenditoriale è stato anche entusiasta Samuel Alito Samuel Alito , whose 15-year record as an appellate judge showed a consistent skepticism of claims against large corporations. , Il cui record di 15 anni come giudice d'appello ha mostrato un costante scetticismo dei crediti nei confronti di grandi imprese. Ted Frank of the American Enterprise Institute predicted at the time of the nomination that if Alito replaced O’Connor, he and Roberts would bring about a rise in business cases before the Supreme Court. Ted Frank dell 'American Enterprise Institute prevedibile al momento della nomina che, se Alito sostituito O'Connor, egli Roberts e porterebbe a un aumento dei casi di attività prima che la Corte Suprema. Frank’s prediction was soon vindicated. Frank's previsione è stata ben presto vendicati.

“There wasn’ta great deal of interest in classic business cases in the last few years of the Rehnquist Court,” Carter Phillips, a partner at Sidley Austin and a leading Supreme Court business advocate, told me. "Non vi era un grande interesse nel classico business dei casi negli ultimi anni della Corte Rehnquist," Carter Phillips, un partner di Sidley Austin e un leader Corte Suprema business avvocato, mi ha detto. In 2004, Judge Richard Posner, a founder of the law-and-economics movement, argued that the Rehnquist Court’s emphasis on headline-grabbing constitutional cases had politicized it, and called on the court to hear more business cases. Nel 2004, il giudice Richard Posner, il fondatore della legge-e-economia movimento, sostenuto che la Corte Rehnquist accento sulla headline-grabbing costituzionale casi era politicizzato, e ha invitato il giudice di ascoltare di più i casi di attività. The Roberts court has unambiguously answered the call. Il giudice Roberts, senza ambiguità, ha risposto alla chiamata. As Phillips told me, Roberts “is more interested in those issues and understands them better than his predecessor did.” Come mi ha detto Phillips, Roberts "è più interessato a questi temi e capisce meglio di loro ha fatto il suo predecessore".

IV. IV.

Exactly how successful has the Chamber of Commerce been at the Supreme Court? Esattamente come è successo alla Camera di Commercio di stato alla Corte suprema? Although the court is currently accepting less than 2 percent of the 10,000 petitions it receives each year, the Chamber of Commerce’s petitions between 2004 and 2007 were granted at a rate of 26 percent, according to Scotusblog. Anche se il giudice è attualmente accettare meno del 2 per cento dei 10000 petizioni, che riceve ogni anno, la Camera di Commercio di petizioni tra il 2004 e il 2007 sono stati concessi ad un tasso del 26 per cento, secondo Scotusblog. And persuading the Supreme Court to hear a case is more than half the battle: Richard Lazarus, a law professor at Georgetown who also represents environmental clients before the court, recently ran the numbers and found that the court reverses the lower court in 65 percent of the cases it agrees to hear; and when the petitioner is represented by the elite Supreme Court advocates routinely hired by the chamber, the success rate rises to 75 percent. E di convincere la Corte Suprema di sentire un caso è più della metà della battaglia: Richard Lazzaro, un professore di diritto a Georgetown, che rappresenta anche ambientale clienti davanti al giudice, di recente eseguito i numeri e il giudice ha rilevato che inverte il tribunale di grado inferiore e 65 per cento di I casi, è d'accordo per sentire, e quando il firmatario è rappresentato dalla Corte Suprema élite sostenitori di routine assunto dalla camera, il tasso di successo sale al 75 per cento.

Faced with these daunting numbers, the progressive antagonists of big business are understandably feeling beleaguered and outgunned. Di fronte a questi numeri scoraggiante, la progressiva antagonisti delle grandi imprese sono comprensibilmente sentirsi assediati e outgunned. “The fight before the court is generally not an even one,” said David Vladeck, who once worked for the Public Citizen Litigation Group and now teaches law at Georgetown. "La lotta prima che il tribunale non è generalmente uno anche di una sola", ha detto David Vladeck, che un tempo lavorava per la Pubblica Cittadino Contenzioso Gruppo ed ora insegna diritto a Georgetown. “There’s us on one side, with a brief or two, and industry on the other side, with a well-coordinated campaign of 10 or 12 briefs, with each one written by a member of the elite Supreme Court bar that address an issue in enormous depth.” He added, ruefully, “You admire their handiwork, but it’s frustrating as hell to deal with.” "C'è siamo su un lato, con una breve o due, l'industria e dall'altra parte, con una ben coordinata campagna di 10 o 12 slip, con ciascuno scritta da un membro della Corte suprema bar élite che uno indirizzo Enorme problema in profondità. "Ha aggiunto, ruefully," Tu ammirare la loro opera, ma è frustrante come l'inferno per affrontare ".

To gauge the degree of the frustration, I recently paid a visit to Ralph Nader, a few weeks before he announced his most recent campaign for president of the United States. Per misurare il grado di frustrazione, di recente ho pagato una visita a Ralph Nader, poche settimane prima che egli annunciò la sua più recente campagna per la presidenza degli Stati Uniti. It was a surprise to find that his office, the Center for Study of Responsive Law, shares an address in a grand building with the Carnegie Institution for Science. E 'stata una sorpresa scoprire che il suo ufficio, il Centro per lo studio dei Rispondere legge, parti di un indirizzo e un grande edificio con la Carnegie Institution per la scienza. But the office itself, reassuringly, is buried on the ground floor, where Nader received me at a conference table surrounded by file cabinets stuffed with faded back issues of Mother Jones and The Nation. Ma l'ufficio stesso, rassicurante, è sepolto al piano terra, dove mi Nader ricevuto nel corso di una conferenza tavolo circondato da file di armadi farcito con sbiadito indietro questioni di Madre Jones e La Nazione.

Nader was uncontrite about his 2000 run against Nader uncontrite è stato eseguito su 2000 contro la sua Al Gore Al Gore — which is often credited with helping George W. Bush win the presidency — and he insisted that because Clinton appointed justices like Breyer, Gore would have done the same. -- Che spesso è accreditato con aiutando vittoria di George W. Bush alla Presidenza - e ha insistito perché Clinton, che ha nominato come giudici Breyer, Gore avrebbe fatto lo stesso. “Breyer hasn’t been worse than I feared, because I had real concern when he was nominated,” Nader told me. "Breyer non è stato peggio che ho avuto paura, perché ho avuto reale preoccupazione quando è stato nominato," mi ha detto Nader. He conceded that, like Breyer, Democratic justices appointed by President Egli ha ammesso che, come Breyer, democratica giudici nominati dal Presidente John Kerry John Kerry would presumably have been better on civil rights and liberties than John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Hanno presumibilmente sarebbe stato meglio su diritti civili e le libertà di John Roberts e Samuel Alito. Nevertheless, he disparaged Breyer as a “deregulation quasi-ideologue” who was able to weave a “tapestry of illusion” in his arguments by dealing in abstractions. Tuttavia, ha denigrato Breyer, come un "quasi-deregolamentazione ideologo", che è stata in grado di tessere un arazzo di illusione "nel suo argomenti da trattare e astrazioni.

The main casualty of the 2000 run, Nader said, is that he is no longer collaborating with America’s trial lawyers. Il principale sinistro di eseguire il 2000, Nader ha detto, è che egli non è più la collaborazione con l'America's trial avvocati. They would ordinarily be his natural allies in representing consumer interests, but they donated heavily to Gore’s campaign. Avrebbero normalmente essere suoi alleati naturali e rappresentano gli interessi dei consumatori, ma fortemente donati per la campagna Gore. After 2000, the trial lawyers “have been vitriolic,” Nader explained. Dopo il 2000, il processo avvocati ", sono state al vetriolo", ha spiegato Nader. He blames them for not using their money to help counteract the influence of the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups before the federal courts. Egli li accusa di non utilizzare il loro denaro per aiutare contrastare l'influenza della Camera di Commercio e di altri gruppi di attività prima della corti federali. In part as a result of their stinginess, he said, his colleagues at Public Citizen are underfinanced and worn down. In parte a causa della loro stinginess, egli ha detto, i suoi colleghi al pubblico Cittadino sono sottofinanziate e usurati. “There were some lawyers who left Public Citizen because they got tired of losing,” he said. "Ci sono stati alcuni avvocati che hanno lasciato Public Citizen, perché ha ottenuto stanco di perdere", ha detto. “Everyone is desperately trying to hold on to whatever issues are left, and then they become demoralized and discouraged.” "Ognuno è disperatamente cercando di tenere a qualunque questioni sono di sinistra, e poi sono diventato demoralizzato e scoraggiati".

Thirty years after the Chamber of Commerce founded its litigation center to counteract his influence, Nader all but conceded defeat in the battle for the Supreme Court. Trenta anni dopo la Camera di Commercio ha fondato il suo centro di controversie per contrastare la sua influenza, ma ha ammesso tutti i Nader sconfitta nella battaglia per la Corte Suprema. With the decline of economic populism in Congress, the weakening of trade unions and the rise of globalization, the political climate, he lamented, was passing him by. Con il declino economico del populismo e Congresso, per l'indebolimento dei sindacati e l'aumento della globalizzazione, il clima politico, egli lamenta, è stato da lui superato. “I recall a comment by Eugene Debs,” Nader said, looking at me intensely. "Mi ricordo un commento da Eugene Debs," ha detto Nader, guardando a me intensamente. “He said: The American people live in a country where they can have almost anything they want. "Disse:« Il popolo americano vivere in un paese dove si può avere quasi quello che vogliono. And my regret is that it seems that they don’t want much of anything at all.” E il mio rammarico è che sembra che non vogliono più di nulla ".

Nader chuckled quietly and shook his head. Nader chuckled tranquillamente e scosse la testa. “I say ditto.” "Dico idem".

V. V.

If there is an anti-Nader — a crusading lawyer passionately devoted to the pro-business cause — it is Theodore Olson. Se vi è un anti-Nader - un avvocato crusading passione dedicata alla causa pro-business - è Theodore Olson. One of the most influential Supreme Court advocates and a former solicitor general under President George W. Bush, Olson is best known for his winning argument before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore in 2000. Uno dei più influenti Corte Suprema fautori e un ex avvocato generale, sotto la guida del Presidente George W. Bush, Olson è meglio conosciuta per il suo argomento vincente dinanzi alla Corte suprema e Bush v. Gore nel 2000. But Olson has devoted most of his energies in private practice to changing the legal and political climate for American business. Olson, ma ha dedicato la maggior parte delle sue energie e privato a modificare la prassi giuridica e per il clima politico americano. According to his peers in the elite Supreme Court bar, he more than anyone else is responsible for transforming the approach to one of the most important legal concerns of the American business community: punitive damages awarded to the victims of corporate negligence. Secondo i suoi colleghi e le élite Corte Suprema bar, lui più di chiunque altro è responsabile per trasformare l'approccio a una delle più importanti preoccupazioni della legge americana comunità imprenditoriale: risarcimento punitivo, premiato per le vittime di negligenza aziendale.

Punitive damages — money awarded by civil juries on top of any awarded for actual harm that victims have suffered — are designed to penalize especially egregious acts of corporate misconduct resulting from malice or greed, and to deter similar wrongdoing in the future. Danni punitivi - fondi assegnati da giurie civile in cima a qualsiasi aggiudicato, per gli effettivi danni che le vittime hanno sofferto - sono concepiti soprattutto per punire gli atti di enormi aziendali derivanti da colpa o dolo avidità, e di impedire irregolarità simili in futuro. In the 19th century, courts generally demanded a clear assignment of fault in cases where victims sued for injuries caused by malfunctioning products. Nel 19 ° secolo, i tribunali di solito chiesto una chiara attribuzione di colpa nei casi in cui le vittime indagate per gli infortuni causati da malfunzionamento dei prodotti. It was hard for plaintiffs to recover in personal-injury cases unless the corporation was obviously at fault. E 'stato difficile per i ricorrenti di recuperare in casi di lesioni personali, a meno che la società è stata, ovviamente, una colpa. But in the 20th century, in liability cases involving a rapidly expanding class of potentially dangerous products like cars, drugs and medical devices, courts increasingly applied a standard of “strict liability,” which held that manufacturers should pay whether or not they were directly at fault. Ma nel 20 ° secolo, e la responsabilità dei casi che comportino una rapida espansione classe di prodotti potenzialmente pericolosi, come le automobili, dei farmaci e dei dispositivi medici, i tribunali sempre più richiesto uno standard di "rigorosa responsabilità", che ha dichiarato che i produttori devono pagare se non fossero direttamente in Colpa.

The animating idea was that manufacturers were in the best position to prevent accidents by improving their products with better design and testing. L'idea era che l'animazione sono stati i produttori nella posizione migliore per prevenire gli incidenti da migliorare i loro prodotti con il migliore design e la sperimentazione. They and their insurance companies (rather than society as a whole) would shoulder the costs of accidents, thus giving them an incentive to make their products safer. Essi e le loro compagnie di assicurazione (piuttosto che la società nel suo complesso) potrebbe assumersi i costi degli incidenti, dando loro un incentivo per rendere i loro prodotti più sicuri. Encouraged by Ralph Nader’s book, “Unsafe at Any Speed,” published in 1965, courts began to see car accidents as predictable events that better car design could have prevented. Incoraggiati da Ralph Nader del libro, "non sicuri Qualsiasi Velocità", pubblicato nel 1965, i tribunali hanno cominciato a vedere come incidenti automobilistici eventi prevedibili che una migliore progettazione automobilistica potrebbe aver impedito. In 1968, for example, a federal court held that car manufacturers could be sued for failing to make cars safe enough for drivers to survive crashes, even if the driver was at fault for the crash. Nel 1968, ad esempio, un giudice federale ha dichiarato che i produttori di automobili potrebbe essere citato per non fare abbastanza sicuro per le auto dei driver per sopravvivere crash, anche se il guidatore è stato per colpa dello schianto.

A series of well-publicized awards in the 1980s and ’90s culminated in the largest punitive damage award in American history the $5 billion levied against Exxon after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. Una serie di ben pubblicizzate premi negli anni 1980 e anni'90 culminata nel più grande danni punitivi aggiudicazione e la storia americana $ 5 miliardi di riscossa contro la Exxon dopo l'incidente della petroliera Exxon Valdez, nel 1989. This was hardly typical: the median punitive award actually fell to $50,000 in 2001 from $63,000 in 1992. Questo è stato quasi tipico: la mediana punitivi premio effettivamente sceso a $ 50000 $ nel 2001 da 63000 nel 1992. Nevertheless, critics like Olson claimed that multimillion-dollar punitive-damage verdicts were threatening the health of the economy. Tuttavia, i critici come Olson ha sostenuto che multimillion-dollaro-i danni punitivi sono stati verdetti che minacciano la salute dell'economia. They resolved to fight back on several fronts. Essi hanno deciso di combattere su diversi fronti. In his first Supreme Court argument, in 1986, Olson set out the broad contours of his argument: for most of English and American history, private litigants were entitled to be compensated for whatever damages they suffered, including pain and suffering, but any public wrongs like the failure of American business to make cars safer by adopting air bags should be addressed by legislation or regulation, not by the courts. Nella sua prima argomentazione della Corte suprema, nel 1986, Olson di cui i grandi contorni della sua argomentazione: per la maggior parte della storia americana e inglese, sono stati privati in causa il diritto di essere compensata per quello che hanno subito danni, compresi il dolore e la sofferenza, ma qualsiasi pubblico torti Come il fallimento del business americano per rendere più sicure le automobili con l'adozione di air bag dovrebbero essere affrontati dalla legislazione o regolamentazione, e non da parte dei tribunali.

Olson decided that his clients deserved not just a lawyer who could argue a case but a lawyer who could change the political culture. Olson ha deciso che i suoi clienti non solo meritato un avvocato che potrebbe sostenere un caso ma un avvocato che potrebbe cambiare la cultura politica. “You had to attack it in a broad-scale way in the legislatures, in the arena of public opinion and in the courts,” he told me recently. "Voi dovuto in un attacco di ampia scala, il modo in legislature, e la scena dell 'opinione pubblica e nei tribunali," mi ha detto di recente. “I felt the business community had to approach this in a holistic way.” He set out, in lectures and op-ed pieces, to publicize especially egregious examples. "Mi sentivo la comunità imprenditoriale doveva questo approccio in un modo olistico." Colui di cui, in seminari e pezzi op-ed, in particolare per pubblicizzare enormi esempi. The poster child for punitive-damage abuse, widely derided in TV and radio ads paid for by the business community, was a New Mexico grandmother who, in 1994, was awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages when she scalded herself with hot McDonald’s coffee. The poster child for punitive-damage abuse, widely derided in TV and radio ads paid for by the business community, was a New Mexico grandmother who, in 1994, was awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages when she scalded herself with hot McDonald’s coffee . Consumer advocates countered that she had originally asked for $20,000 for medical expenses, which McDonald’s refused to pay, and the award appeared to have the effect of persuading McDonald’s to serve its coffee at a safer temperature. Consumer advocates countered that she had originally asked for $20000 for medical expenses, which McDonald’s refused to pay, and the award appeared to have the effect of persuading McDonald’s to serve its coffee at a safer temperature. Nonetheless, the campaign to vilify plaintiffs’ lawyers has been effective enough that the American Association of Trial Lawyers recently changed its name to the fuzzier American Association for Justice.

The business community made other inroads against punitive damages. Corporations financed campaigns against pro-punitive-damage state judges who had been elected with the assistance of large contributions from plaintiffs’ lawyers. The business community also helped persuade more than 30 states to either impose caps on punitive-damage awards or direct substantial portions of the awards to be paid into special state funds. In 1996, it helped persuade the Republican Congress, led by Newt Gingrich , to pass legislation that would cap punitive-damage awards in product-liability cases in every state court in the country. But in 1996, President Clinton, with what must have been perverse pleasure, vetoed the bill on the grounds that it violated principles of federalism and states rights to which conservatives claimed to be devoted.

Thwarted by Clinton, and unable to persuade Congress to override the veto, opponents of punitive damages turned their attention back to the Supreme Court, looking for a victory they were unable to win in the political arena. Here, they were remarkably successful. As late as 1991, the court had refused to impose limits on a large punitive-damage award. But in a case in 1996, the court held for the first time that punitive-damage awards had to be proportional to the actual damage incurred by the plaintiff. The case involved a man who said he was deceived by BMW when it sold him a supposedly “new” car that was, in fact, used and had received a $300 touch-up job. The court, in a 5-4 opinion, overturned a $2 million punitive-damage award as “grossly excessive.” In 2003, the court clarified what it meant: a single-digit ratio between punitive damages and compensatory damages was likely to be acceptable. The court, in a 5-4 opinion, overturned a $2 million punitive-damage award as “grossly excessive.” In 2003, the court clarified what it meant: a single-digit ratio between punitive damages and compensatory damages was likely to be acceptable .

Last year, the business community watched with anticipation as Roberts and Alito revealed their views about punitive damages. The case involved the estate of a heavy smoker who sued Philip Morris for deceitfully distributing a “poisonous and addictive substance.” A jury had awarded the estate $821,000 in compensatory damages and $79.5 million in punitive damages — a ratio of about 100 to 1. The case involved the estate of a heavy smoker who sued Philip Morris for deceitfully distributing a “poisonous and addictive substance.” A jury had awarded the estate $821000 in compensatory damages and $79.5 million in punitive damages — a ratio of about 100 to 1. In a 5-4 opinion written by Breyer, the court held that it was unconstitutional for a jury to use punitive damages to punish a company for its conduct toward similarly affected individuals who are not party to the lawsuit.

This spring, the court will decide the Exxon Valdez punitive-damage case, which many consider the culmination of the business community’s decades-long campaign against punitive damages. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez tanker, whose captain had a history of alcoholism, ran into a reef and punctured the hull; 11 million gallons of oil leaked onto the coastline of Prince William Sound. A jury handed down a $5 billion punitive-damage award.

After the verdict, Exxon began providing money for academic research to support its claim that the award for damages was excessive. It financed some of the country’s most prominent scholars on both sides of the political spectrum, including the Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and Cass Sunstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago. (Sunstein says he accepted only travel grants, not research support, from Exxon; and Kahneman stresses that the financing had no influence on the substance of his work.) In a 2002 book, “Punitive Damages: How Juries Decide,” Sunstein studied hundreds of mock-jury deliberations and concluded that jurors are unpredictable and often irrational in punitive-damage cases. (Sunstein says he accepted only travel grants, not research support, from Exxon; and Kahneman stresses that the financing had no influence on the substance of his work.) In a 2002 book, “Punitive Damages: How Juries Decide,” Sunstein studied hundreds of mock-jury deliberations and concluded that jurors are unpredictable and often irrational in punitive-damage cases. Jury deliberations, he found, increase the unpredictability, as well as the dollar amount of the final awards. Sunstein concluded that a system of civil fines determined by experts, rather than punitive damages determined by juries, might be more sensible. When Exxon appealed the $5 billion verdict in 2006, it was reduced by an appellate court to $2.5 billion. The reduced verdict is once again being challenged as excessive.

Walter Dellinger, the lawyer now arguing Exxon’s case before the Supreme Court, is no Republican activist. Like Sunstein, he is one of the most respected Democratic constitutional scholars, as well as a former acting solicitor general for President Clinton. Last month, in his argument before the court, Dellinger argued that because Exxon has already paid $3.4 billion in fines, cleanup costs and compensation connected with the Exxon Valdez spill, and because it didn’t act out of malice or greed in failing to monitor the alcoholic captain, additional punitive damages would serve no “public purpose.” Last month, in his argument before the court, Dellinger argued that because Exxon has already paid $3.4 billion in fines, cleanup costs and compensation connected with the Exxon Valdez spill, and because it didn’t act out of malice or greed in failing to monitor the alcoholic captain, additional punitive damages would serve no “public purpose.”

During the argument, Breyer noted that the $2.5 billion punitive damage award represents a less than 10-to-1 ratio between punitive damages and compensatory damages, which is in the single-digit range that the Supreme Court has considered acceptable in the past. But Breyer also seemed concerned at other points that punitive-damage awards have not been routine in maritime cases like this one, and that the award might create “a new world for the shipping industry.” Alito, who owns Exxon Mobil stock, did not participate, and because a tie would affirm the $2.5 billion punitive-damage award, the plaintiffs who are opposing Exxon need only four votes to prevail. But Breyer also seemed concerned at other points that punitive-damage awards have not been routine in maritime cases like this one, and that the award might create “a new world for the shipping industry.” Alito, who owns Exxon Mobil stock, did not participate, and because a tie would affirm the $2.5 billion punitive-damage award, the plaintiffs who are opposing Exxon need only four votes to prevail. But whether Dellinger gets five votes, a significant triumph is already behind him: he persuaded the court to take the case in the first place.

VI.

Ted Olson and the Chamber of Commerce aren’t only trying to persuade the Supreme Court to cut back on large punitive-damage awards; they’re also arguing that consumers injured by dangerous or defective medical devices and drugs in some cases shouldn’t be able to file product-liability suits at all. Ted Olson and the Chamber of Commerce aren’t only trying to persuade the Supreme Court to cut back on large punitive-damage awards; they’re also arguing that consumers injured by dangerous or defective medical devices and drugs in some cases shouldn’t be able to file product-liability suits at all. Because there is no national product-liability law that allows federal suits for personal injuries, consumers who are injured by, say, defective heart valves or artificial hips have to sue in state courts under state tort law. By asking the Supreme Court to prevent injured consumers from suing in state court, the business community, supported by the Bush administration, is trying to ensure that these consumers often have no legal remedy for their injuries. And the Supreme Court has been increasingly sympathetic to the business community’s arguments.

In a Supreme Court case Olson argued in December, he stood before the justices and argued that the manufacturers of defective medical devices — like heart valves, breast implants and defibrillators — should be immune from personal-liability suits because the federal Food and Drug Administration had approved the devices before they were marketed and the manufacturers had complied with all federal requirements. The case involved Charles Riegel, who had an angioplasty in 1996 during which the catheter used to dilate his coronary artery burst. Riegel, who needed advanced life support and emergency bypass surgery, eventually sued the manufacturer of the catheter, Medtronic. The company is colloquially referred to in the business community as “the pre-emption company” because of its practice of arguing that the Food and Drug Administration’s “premarket approval” of its products pre-empts product-liability suits in state courts.

The lawyer representing Riegel’s estate before the Supreme Court, Allison Zieve of Public Citizen, countered that Congress never intended to ban state product-liability suits when Senator Edward Kennedy sponsored a bill regulating medical devices in 1976. (Kennedy himself filed a brief in the case noting that he indeed intended no such thing.) “Lawyers think this is a close issue, but any time I talk to a nonlawyer about it, they’re shocked,” Zieve told me after the argument. (Kennedy himself filed a brief in the case noting that he indeed intended no such thing.) “Lawyers think this is a close issue, but any time I talk to a nonlawyer about it, they’re shocked,” Zieve told me after the argument. “People think: of course, if somebody makes a defective product you can sue.”

It’s one thing to argue that the federal government’s “premarket approval” of food, drugs and medical devices should pre-empt clearly inconsistent state laws and regulations. After all, if states imposed safety requirements that conflicted with the federal standard, the resulting regulatory confusion would make a national (and global) market impossible. But Olson’s claim that federal regulation of medical devices and drugs should also pre-empt product-liability suits under state tort law is one of the more creative and far-reaching legal arguments of the business groups that litigate before the Supreme Court.

This type of argument arose out of the tobacco litigation of the 1980s and ’90s, which culminated in a $206 billion settlement paid by the top tobacco companies to a consortium of 46 state attorneys general in exchange for dropping tort suits against the companies. The tobacco litigation began modestly: in 1983, Rose Cipollone, a New Jersey woman dying of lung cancer, sued several of the country’s largest tobacco companies for their failure to give adequate warnings about the dangers of smoking. After spending tens of millions of dollars fighting the verdict, the companies decided to take their defense to the next level. They argued that because the federal government required cigarette companies to have warning labels, tobacco companies couldn’t be subject to tort suits in state courts. Jury verdicts, they argued, are no less a form of regulation than laws explicitly adopted by state legislatures.

In a decision in 1992, the Supreme Court endorsed part of the companies’ argument. The decision unleashed a torrent of similar “pre-emption” claims by the manufacturers of dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and cars without air bags. And after the election of President Bush in 2000, the business community’s crusade was aggressively supported by the White House. At the same time that the White House was scaling back on federal health-and-safety enforcement, it insisted that consumers should not be able to sue federally regulated industries in state court. Bush appointed as the general counsel of the Food and Drug Administration a former drug- and tobacco-company lawyer named Daniel Troy. With Troy’s support, the FDA reversed its position, held for 25 years, and argued for the first time that its premarket approval of medical devices should prevent injured consumers from bringing product-liability suits in state court.

After her Supreme Court argument in the Medtronic case, Zieve told me she wasn’t sure what to expect. Until the arrival of Chief Justice Roberts, groups like Public Citizen had found that they had a better chance of winning pre-emption cases before the Supreme Court than in the lower courts. But during the first two years of the Roberts Court, the justices had decided two pre-emption cases in favor of the corporate defendants.

The trend has continued. On Feb. 21, the Supreme Court handed Zieve a crushing defeat: an 8-1 opinion immunizing the makers of defective medical devices from product-liability suits. The lone dissent was written by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who objected that Congress could not have intended such a “radical curtailment” of state personal-injury suits when it regulated medical devices in 1976. Ginsburg, who is devoted to liberal judicial restraint, has consistently opposed efforts to second-guess punitive-damage awards or expand federal pre-emption. I called Zieve soon after the Supreme Court issued its opinion, and she sounded shocked. “It’s really unfathomable to me,” she said. “I wasn’t sure that this was a business-friendly court, but now I’m finding it harder not to view it that way.” Zieve said that, as a result of the decision, “I think the industry will keep unsafe devices on the market longer and be slower to improve products.” “I wasn’t sure that this was a business-friendly court, but now I’m finding it harder not to view it that way.” Zieve said that, as a result of the decision, “I think the industry will keep unsafe devices on the market longer and be slower to improve products.”

In the eyes of advocates like Zieve and Public Citizen, the public is now caught in a Catch-22: at the very moment that agencies like the FDA are being strongly reproved by critics — including the agency’s own internal science board — for being unwilling or unable to protect public health, the court is making it harder for people to receive compensation for the injuries that result. In the eyes of advocates like Zieve and Public Citizen, the public is now caught in a Catch-22: at the very moment that agencies like the FDA are being strongly reproved by critics — including the agency’s own internal science board — for being unwilling or unable to protect public health, the court is making it harder for people to receive compensation for the injuries that result. On rare occasions, the Roberts Court has held that the Bush administration’s deregulatory efforts circumvent the will of Congress — like the 5-4 decision last year holding that the Environmental Protection Agency acted capriciously when it adopted a rule that said it had no legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases. On rare occasions, the Roberts Court has held that the Bush administration’s deregulatory efforts circumvent the will of Congress — like the 5-4 decision last year holding that the Environmental Protection Agency acted capriciously when it adopted a rule that said it had no legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases. But by and large, the Supreme Court defers to agencies that refuse to regulate public health and safety. “The industry has a lot of money, and they can routinely hire the biggest names in the biggest firms, while we’re doing it on our own,” Zieve told me. “We don’t charge anything — we’re free. It didn’t cost $250,000 to get us to write the brief.” It didn’t cost $250000 to get us to write the brief.”

VII.

The Supreme Court is unlikely to reconsider its pro-business outlook anytime soon. Nevertheless, there are several currents in American political life that run counter to the court, even if they may not be strong enough, or suitably directed, to reverse it. There are, for example, economic populists in both political parties — John Edwards Democrats and Mike Huckabee Republicans, to cite just two types — who express concern about growing economic inequality and corporate corruption, and blame unchecked corporate power for America’s escalating economic problems. These populists tend to be from the working and middle classes rather than the professional classes, and their numbers may be growing. In recent Pew surveys, 65 percent of Americans agreed that corporations make excessive profits — the highest number in 20 years. Moreover, about half the country now asserts that America is divided on economic lines into two groups — the “haves” and “have nots” — up from only 26 percent two decades ago. And the number of Americans who view themselves as “have nots” has doubled to 34 percent today from 17 percent in 1988. Responding to pressures from this demographic, a Democratic Congress — bolstered by states-rights conservatives — might well try to pass legislation to counteract the court’s recent decisions barring product-liability suits for defective medical devices.

What about the executive branch? It seems unlikely that John McCain , if he were elected president, would push back against the court: he has already pledged to appoint “judges of the character and quality of Justices Roberts and Alito,” rather than justices more devoted to states rights, like Scalia and Thomas. As for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, both have sounded increasingly populist notes in an effort to attract union and blue-collar supporters, ratcheting up their attacks on corporate wealth and power, singling out the drug, oil and health-insurance industries and promising to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. and Hillary Clinton, both have sounded increasingly populist notes in an effort to attract union and blue-collar supporters, ratcheting up their attacks on corporate wealth and power, singling out the drug, oil and health-insurance industries and promising to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. But despite their rhetoric, it is not clear that either candidate would actually appoint justices any more populist than Bill Clinton’s nominees. “I would be stunned to find an anti-business appointee from either of them,” Cass Sunstein, who is a constitutional adviser to Obama, told me. “There’s not a strong interest on the part of Obama or Clinton in demonizing business, and you wouldn’t expect to see that in their Supreme Court nominees.”

Still, the possibility does exist. If the economy continues to decline and blue-collar voters end up being crucial in the election, a Democratic president might appoint an economic populist to the Supreme Court as a kind of payback. Earlier this month, on the campaign trail in Ohio, Obama mentioned Earl Warren, who served as governor of California before becoming chief justice, as a model of the kind of justice he hoped to appoint. “I want people on the bench who have enough empathy, enough feeling, for what ordinary people are going through,” Obama said. He praised Warren for understanding that segregation was wrong because of the stigma it attached to blacks, rather than because of the precise nature of its sociological impact. Appointing a former politician to the court would almost certainly introduce a more populist element: the Supreme Court that in 1954 decided Brown v. Board of Education included, in addition to a former governor, three former senators, a former Securities and Exchange Commission member and two former attorneys general. Appointing a former politician to the court would almost certainly introduce a more populist element: the Supreme Court that in 1954 decided Brown v. Board of Education included, in addition to a former governor, three former senators, a former Securities and Exchange Commission member and two former attorneys general. (By contrast, the Roberts court is composed of nine former judges.)

Whatever happens in November, Robin Conrad says the Chamber of Commerce is prepared to lobby as hard as ever for the appointment of pro-business justices. “If we do have a Democrat president, and that president has opportunities to nominate to the court,” she said in our meeting as I glanced at her Hillary Clinton action figure, “we want to be able to express ourselves and work with that president.” Regardless of how many justices retire in the next presidential term, Conrad is confident that, having helped to transform the Supreme Court in less than 30 years, she and her colleagues can assure American business of a sympathetic hearing for decades to come. “If we do have a Democrat president, and that president has opportunities to nominate to the court,” she said in our meeting as I glanced at her Hillary Clinton action figure, “we want to be able to express ourselves and work with that president .” Regardless of how many justices retire in the next presidential term, Conrad is confident that, having helped to transform the Supreme Court in less than 30 years, she and her colleagues can assure American business of a sympathetic hearing for decades to come.

When I told Conrad that Ralph Nader told me that lawyers were leaving Public Citizen because they were tired of losing, she achieved a look of earnest concern. “I hope if they feel they’ve lost,” she said, “they lost for a good reason — not because they’ve been overpowered or muscled by the big, bad business community, but they’ve lost because reason won.”

Conrad looked at me squarely, and then added, “I guess if Ralph Nader wants to say we did him in” — she paused to weigh her words — “so be it.”

Jeffrey Rosen, a law professor at George Washington University, is a frequent contributor to the magazine. He is the author, most recently, of “The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America.”

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