MSI said:
How do they get frivoulous lawsuits to court? Do they bribe the judge? Isn't there anything in the legal system to protect people from frivoulous lawsuits? . . .
Ah, the US legal system. It has nothing to do with the truth or ethics (or at least what most of us would consider ethics).
I know one particular attorney personally. He's a pretty nice guy, and goes out of his way to be what he considers ethics. He has done these things:
Had his wife sign someone else's name to documents. Claims this is not forgery because there was no money involved. Nothing wrong with it, and he continues to do it.
Writes numerous letters to the editor to effect political gain using other people's names. They sign the letters, so there's nothing wrong with it. Of course he would spit nails if anyone knew.
He obfuscated his own property line to his benefit. A surveyor came along, correctly surveyed the property. He attacks the credibility of the surveyor (slanders him endlessly) because the correct line isn't where he wants it.
He has sold cattle without vaccinations that are required by law. Claims this is proper for some obscure reason I can't remember.
And on and on.
As I said, the guy is actually a nice guy. Other attorneys are much worse. He just doesn't have the ethics that many of us would. From my own observation, it appears that attorneys make their livings pressing their client's case to the best of their abilities. That is their job and their duty. But somewhere along the line the truth gets lost. The guy mentioned above is expert at avoiding and obfuscating facts that are to his detriment and promoting ideas that are to his benefit. He is concerned with the truth only to the extent that it affects his argument. His "ethic" is the letter of the law, plus case law, to the extent that it can be construed to his benefit. There is no remnant of what your Sunday school teacher would hold as ethical in the legal profession, in my observation.
So that is where these "frivolous" lawsuits come from. There is a legal system which exists. This system is leveraged to greatest advantage by skilled practitioners. It is done so without any consideration for what "unsophisticated" people consider right or wrong. The only ethic is the law, and that rarely means what people think it means.
Pay attention when you vote. If you only read one thing in your voter's pamphlet, read the issues on reforming the legal system. They come up quite frequently. And vote for officials whose position it is to reform the courts. There are things that can be done to fix it. Certainly we cannot rely on atorneys to restrain themselves.
Scott
