Civil Action
The legal system is an essential element in the successful operation of this country. It is a system that is utilized every day, by every type of person, from the average blue-collar worker to the average Wall Street broker. There is a multitude of ways that the legal system is put to use. One such way is the class action lawsuit. A Civil Action, by Jonathan Harr, uses the account of a single case, Anne Anderson, et al., v. W.R. Grace & Co., et al, to illustrate the power and importance of class action lawsuits in the civil justice system. The purpose of class action lawsuits is to give the common man the ability to take on the largest corporate or private entities, who can afford the very best legal services, and have a chance of redressing the wrong done by these entities (Clark, sec. 1). Without class action lawsuits, ordinary citizens acting individually would not have the means to challenge corporate and governmental wrongdoers. A Civil Action provides an in depth account of the life of one class action suit. It explores the role of the lawyer in litigating situations, focusing on the critical factor of proving causality. It brings to light numerous pitfalls encountered by both the prosecution
Without realizing it, Schlichtmann and the judge were both guilty of assuming juror comprehension. For this reason, even minor mistakes by witnesses are considered to be serious pitfalls. That is something to be thankful for, even if they didn't end up with $25 million. Proving causality becomes even more difficult if the prosecution is faced with dishonest witnesses. In other words, the majority of the evidence must suggest finding for the plaintiff. This isn't to say that that is all they are interested in, but it is a definite motivating factor. Without the existence of class action lawsuits, these ordinary citizens would have been acting individually would not have had the means to challenge the corporate wrongdoers. "They were now half a million dollars over budget. There was no limit to what they would spend for medical testing, environmental testing, expert analysis and testimony. An expert witness whose credibility is questioned can no longer be seen as an expert witness. As in any case, each side is going to have an expert who will refute the testimony of the other side's expert. As expected, the motivations will vary depending on an individual's involvement in the case. In A Civil Action, George Pinder, Schlichtmann's expert in hydrology and groundwater movement, made a minor calculating mistake. These questions were all but impossible to understand" (Harr 369).
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Acceptance Essays
