A Civil Action

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At the end of the case Jan Schlichtman had to file bankruptcy because of all the cost. The lawyers that represented the two companies were from Harvard and part of a major law firm. Only when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to launch a clean up and filed a suit against the two companies to pay a share of the cost was the only actual justice served. They said the project would last for 50 years but after they?re all done there will still be TCE left. leukemia, skin rashes, nausea, burning eyes and other ailments. The lawyer that represented the families was from a smaller firm and didn?t go to a really good college and the judge treated them different in court.

The story continues on to talk about how the families and lawyers try to convince the jury by using evidence that they got from medical experts, public health specialists, geologists, civil engineers, and government agencies to win the case. Another thing that I realized was that if you don?t have specific evidence to prove your point in a case it could get dismissed.

After reading this book I came to realize that the justice system is messed up. In the end the financial power and stonewalling of the companies, and the partiality of the presiding judge for one of the defense lawyers resulted in a verdict that favored the defense. People get favored over based on their reputation, where they went to school, the law firm they work at and etc.

Common topics in this essay:
Beatrice Foods, Agency EPA, Jan Schlichtman, Woburn Massachusetts, Civil Action, jan schlichtman, law firm, toxic waste,

Approximate Word count = 339
Approximate Pages = 1 (250 words per page double spaced)

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