LAWSUITS ARE ORDINARY AMERICANS' LAST RESORT

Putting additional restrictions on lawsuits is not the answer to any perceived lawsuit crisis. Did you know that every judge in every state and federal court in the country has the power to dismiss a frivolous suit at any time and fine the attorney who filed it? Did you know that according to the Department of Justice, tort trials in federal court are down 79 percent since 1985, and personal injury trials in state courts are down 32 percent since 1992.

Two years ago, when a criminal shot and killed Tony Zeppetella - a police officer in Oceanside, Calif. - with a bullet that penetrated his vest, his widow filed a lawsuit. It turns out company executives knew they were selling bulletproof vests made of a defective material to police officers, the Secret Service, the U.S. military and even the president of the United States, but refused to pull them from the market.

Until they were sued, that is. Because of that lawsuit, and a number of lawsuits that followed it, the company was forced to recall 100,000 defective vests.

Local and federal law enforcement and our U.S. military, the men and women who hunt down "madmen who fly airliners into skyscrapers," are today wearing safer body armor and bulletproof vests because of the lawsuits, trial lawyers, and civil justice system.

The civil justice system is the embodiment of American values such as responsibility, fairness and a level playing field. And as the faulty bulletproof vest lawsuits and so many others prove, it is also the last resort for ordinary Americans to hold corporate CEOs accountable when they put profits before human life.

So before further restraints are put on your right to file a lawsuit, ask yourself, "What if your loved one had to put on Officer Zeppetella's vest to protect their life? Wouldn't you want it to be the safest possible?" Remember, it wasn't until an average American fought for justice.