I have been thinking about an editorial in Washington’s Herald. The writer, Scott North, discusses a couple of recent court cases the paper reported on, and how “immediate, bitter and personal attacks in the reader comments on HeraldNet” pushed a Washington family to drop a claim for damages after their son was injured in a car accident.
Does the fear of a public backlash keep victims from pursuing their constitutional right to have their claim heard?
Read Scott North’s piece The trolls don’t like your lawsuit — just because, and take a look at the comments section. Most of the “anonymous” comments seem to prove the point that Susan Saladoff made in Hot Coffee: most of what the public believes about lawsuits is the result of corporate spin designed to protect corporate assets.
It’s sad that the court of public opinion is standing in for the court of law.
