This site, and most of what I do, involves human exceptionalism, bioethics, and the like. But I still care about areas about which I formerly focused. And sometimes, I take metaphorical pen in hand.
Pervasive secrecy corrupts the societal purposes of our civil justice system. Today in the San Francisco Chronicle, bouncing off the Herman Cain brouhaha, I criticize the ubiquitous practice of confidential settlements to resolve civil disputes. From my conclusion:
The time has come to draw open the curtains. Confidentiality:
- Allows dangerous products to remain on the market.
- Protects the reputations of those who engage in systemic wrongdoing.
- Makes it easier for the unscrupulous to profit from bogus claims and defenses.
- Inreases the cost of insurance.
- Adds to congestion in the courts.
- Most ironically, secret settlements push the plaintiff and the defense, who should be legal adversaries, into a form of private collusion for which the rest of society pays.
Civil justice secrecy is a very important problem that receives far too little attention. Now, back to our usual fare.
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