Thornburgh calls for justice system reform

Forty lawyers-to-be listened carefully to the advice and wisdom of former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh in a lecture last week at the Law School. Thornburgh, also a former undersecretary-general of the United Nations, spoke Thursday on civil justice reform at a forum sponsored by the Penn Law Federalist Society. The two-term Pennsylvania governor spoke at the University because of his strong state ties, according to Penn Law Federalist Society President Kevin Boyle, a third-year Law student. The Federalist Society consists of "conservatives and libertarians" interested in the decentralization of governmental power. Boyle expressed great enthusiasm for Thornburgh, who served under Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Law School Dean Colin Diver introduced Thornburgh, who he termed "the favorite son of Pennsylvania" and "one of the most successful governors of [his] era." Thornburgh began his speech with the assertion that last year's O.J. Simpson murder trial highlighted the flaws in the criminal court system. He called on citizens to "remove the Mark Fuhrmans of this world from the police force" and "to somehow counter the rush judgement of juries." Thornburgh added that he approves of television coverage of courtroom proceedings, because it makes judges and lawyers more accountable to the public. There is also a certain inevitability in television's pervasive use, he added. "We shouldn't try and fight technology," he said. Proceeding to the main topic of his speech, Thornburgh decried the abuses of the civil justice system and lambasted a society racked with "victim syndrome" and hindered by "lawsuit abuse." "We seem to seek a risk-free environment," he said. He blasted extremely high punitive damages handed out to plaintiffs in product liability cases, saying these awards result in a slower, less competitive economy that shies away from innovation, ultimately leading to a lower standard of living. But Thornburgh did not only dwell on the negative. He lauded some reforms, including recently instituted caps on punitive damages. "Reform has been stalled at the federal level," he said. But he added that he was more optimistic about reforms at the state level and the "full head of steam" gathering behind reform movements as a result. Thornburgh closed his remarks with a statement of his genuine interest in the subject. "I believe these reforms are pro-people, pro-business and pro-jobs," he said. Thornburgh opened the floor to audience questions following his speech. First-year Law student Richard Izquierdo said he learned a great deal from the speech. "[Thornburgh] is very open and frank," Izquierdo said. "He's fairly open-minded."