Lawyers Fought U.S. Move to Curb Tobacco Penalty (Memo: cuts "ordered")

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON, June 15 - Senior Justice Department officials overrode the objections of career lawyers running the government's tobacco racketeering trial and ordered them to reduce the penalties sought at the close of a nine-month trial by $120 billion, internal documents and interviews show.

The trial team argued that the move would be seen as politically motivated and legally groundless.

"We do not want politics to be perceived as the underlying motivation, and that is certainly a risk if we make adjustments in our remedies presentation that are not based on evidence," the two top lawyers for the trial team, Sharon Y. Eubanks and Stephen D. Brody, wrote in a memorandum on May 30 to Associate Attorney General Robert D. McCallum that was reviewed by The New York Times.
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The newly disclosed documents make clear that the decision was made after weeks of tumult in the department and accusations from lawyers on the tobacco team that Mr. McCallum and other political appointees had effectively undermined their case. Mr. McCallum, No. 3 at the department, is a close friend of President Bush from their days as Skull & Bones members at Yale, and he was also a partner at an Atlanta law firm, Alston & Bird, that has done legal work for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, part of Reynolds American, a defendant in the case.
...
Officials who insisted on anonymity said the change on the penalties provoked such strong objections from the trial team that some lawyers threatened to quit. Department officials have now proposed that a lower-level lawyer who has outlined the reasons for reduced penalties take over crucial parts of the remainder of the trial.

http://nytimes.com/2005/06/16/politics/16tobacco.html?hp&ex=1118894400&en=63124f742c36d0e5&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Name removed]

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[Rose Siding]

3. The bushies just *gave* the tobacco companies 120 billion dollars

And we ALREADY have two memos about the treachery. The US trial team lawyers were fairly certain that the larger amt was in keeping with the appellate court decision.

The officials at justice wouldn't even REVIEW the lawyers work- evidence or argument- before ordering a reduction in the requested settlement.

Tobacco just got paid for LOTS of campaign contributions, past and future.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Don' t know why, among so many outrages, this one...

really gets to me. Time and money wasted? So brazenly blatant? So typical of the cabal?

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[tkmorris]

7. Seems obvious to me nt

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[paulk]

4. this is a major scandal

Frank Marine has been bought and sold by the Bush admin. ... if they replace Sharon Eubanks... the fix is truly in.

This is so blatent... such an abuse of power and payoff to the tobacco industry...

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[napi21]

14. Well, I happen to think the Tobacco industry has paid enough already!

If you don't want to smoke, then don't! I have said it before and I'll say it again. I was taught in grade school what smoking did to your lungs, and heart. We had 11 X 14 posters all around the classroom showing clear lings all the way to totally destroyed ones. I understand the tobacco companies tried to promote their product, that was their job! Anyone who claims not to have know the risks is either lying, or so damn stupid they wouldn't know they shouldn't try to walk across the freeway either!

I'm 62, and I know the dangers of smoking. I don't smoke in anyone elses home unless invited to. I don't smoke in restaurants because I just have no desire to. I smoke in a bar while I'm having a beer, I smoke in my car, and in my house. Sometimes I smoke outside wherever I am at the time. If you can't accept that, too bad!

I view the Dems on this issue just as bad as the Pubs on their issues. You're using something you disagree with to hammer anyone who doesn't agree with you!

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[paulk]

23. I think you misunderstand the case

The tobacco industry is being accused of fraud (under RICO).

Most smokers (over 80%) start smoking before the age of 18 - at an age where rational decisions are difficult. Teens aren't capable of making good risk assessments - that's why they're targeted by tobacco companies. It's against the law to market to teens - the crux of the case is that the tobacco industry systematically and routinely lies to the public about the health risks of smoking, markets to teenagers, and keeps smokers addicted by offering them what appear to be healthful alternatives to full strength cigarettes (lite cigarettes), which the industry knew were equally harmful. They also lied about manipulating nicotine content to make cigarettes more addictive.

The settlement would force the tobacco industry to pay for smoking cessation programs. The tobacco industry is opposed to this - they don't want people to quit smoking.

[napi21]

24. That's what the settlement funds were supposed to be used for.

Well, guess what? Some were, but many states decided to use that windfall $$ for everything else except stop smiking ads and programs!

Having said that, just how much $$ do you think the penalty should be? How many years should this continue before you decide the tobacco companies have been punished enough?

In every other case I can remember, there is a trial, a verdict, and a penalty. In some cases, like the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, the penalty is such that the company just shuts down and files bankruptcy. In others, a penalty is paid, and life goes on.

To me, it appears that the opposition to tobacco products wants nothing less than to put these companies out of business, and they won't stop until they're GONE!

On a personal note, I don't buy American cigarettes anymore, they're just too expensive! I buy those made in the Philippines (my current ones).

Just what will it take to make the opposition finally stop?