Litigious Society, Death Penalty
The Price of a Litigious Society Guests: Justin Collings, JD, Legal Historian and Law Professor in BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School; Paul Rubin, PhD, Professor of Law and Economics at Emory University You’ve heard the laments: Americans are so quick to sue people who’ve wronged us that we’ve driven auto and health insurance rates sky high and taken all the fun out playgrounds and public pools. Some cities are actually banning sledding on public property because of liability. Is there any aspect of our lives not affected by the risk of getting sued? There are legal scholars who say America is not any more litigious than other wealthy nations and that it’s a small group of outlier cases that giving us a bad name – like the $2.8 million jury award to a woman who spilled hot McDonald’s coffee on her lap. This hour we’re looking at America’s penchant for personal injury and class action lawsuits, how this area of the law evolved and what effect it has on our economy and society. Past, Present, and Future of the Death Penalty Guest: Austin Sarat, JD, Professor of Law and Political Science at Amherst College and Author of “Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty;” Stephen H. Urquhart, Republican Utah State Senator and sponsor of SB 189 to abolish the death penalty in Utah Twenty-eight people were executed in America last year – the lowest number in more than two decades. The number of death sentences handed down by US courts has dropped off precipitously during that time, too. Capital punishment in America is in steady decline. Part of the answer has to do with drug manufacturers in the US and Europe now refusing to sell their chemicals for use in lethal injection. As a result, Utah brought back the firing squad as an execution alternative. Other states are looking at bringing back the gas chamber or electric chair. Another reason for the death penalty’s decline is public opinion. Polls show Americans are less and less supportive of it.