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Texas Watch: Texas Supreme Court Biased Toward Big Business |
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Wednesday, 03 October 2007 |
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Law students, Texas Watch criticize highest state court
Critics of the Texas Supreme Court say the justices have a bias toward large corporate defenders. The UT Law School chapter of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association presented a case Tuesday with a talk, "The Texas Supreme Court: A Case of Corruption, Cronyism, and Consumer Contempt," from Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch. Texas Watch has been monitoring the court's behavior over the past 10 years, which has yielded some "startling statistics," Winslow said.
Law students, Texas Watch criticize highest state court
By Jennilee Garza
Media Credit: Larissa Mueller
N. Alex Winslow spoke about government corruption and corporate lobbying with UT students in Townes Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
| | Critics of the Texas Supreme Court say the justices have a bias toward large corporate defenders.
The UT Law School chapter of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association presented a case Tuesday with a talk, "The Texas Supreme Court: A Case of Corruption, Cronyism, and Consumer Contempt," from Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch.
The UT Law chapter of the association started this semester to serve as a voice in the legal community and to provide networking opportunities for students interested in plaintiff's law, said Brian Dupre, president of the Texas Law chapter. Dupre said he hoped to advance debate about the Texas Supreme Court and a justice system that lacks merit.
Dupre said he questions whether a consumer can get a fair hearing at the highest court in Texas.
Tuesday's talk became an informal conversation between Winslow and the students of the chapter.
"I'm not a lawyer, so I come at this not from a lawyer perspective but a consumer perspective," Winslow said.
Texas Watch has been monitoring the court's behavior over the past 10 years, which has yielded some "startling statistics," Winslow said.
Winslow said that in 70 percent of the cases studied, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of corporate defenders. Between 2005 and 2006, 84 percent of the cases favored corporations. Though Winslow said he did not think consumers should necessarily win 50 percent of cases, the court should still have achieved some parity in more than 10 years.
Texas Watch is currently working on its 11th annual report.
"It's really about giving individual people their constitutional right and a trial by jury," he said.
Blair Townsend, publicity chair for the student chapter, said, "Texas has gone to quite an extreme, and there shouldn't be such a bias in the final decision."
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=259dbc7b-ea7b-4c05-a378-d51956295e7e
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