KEN STREMSKY DISCUSSES TORT REFORM TORT REFORM Amendment Eight of the United States Constitution says "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." I found information about tort reform by typing tort reform on the search engine of www.google.com. The Daily Reporter did a series of articles from December 26, 1995 to December 29, 1995 with the title "TORT REFORM: IS THE SYSTEM BROKEN?" that may be viewed by typing http://centralohio.thesource.net/Files2/tort.html The website for the American Tort Reform Association is www.atra.org. The website for the Association of Trial Lawyers Association is www.atla.org. I highly recommend that people read the Joint Economic Committee Study from March 1996 with the title "Improving the American Legal System: The Economic Benefits of Tort Reform" which may be viewed at http://www.house.gov/jec/tort/tort/tort.htm I believe it is a very bad idea to make the loser of a lawsuit pay for the legal fees of the winner of a lawsuit. I think it is usually a bad idea to limit pain and suffering awards. Congress has the ability to pass a law that says that liability awards may not be greater than an amount Congress sets. The United States Supreme Court has the ability to judge (determine) that liability awards may not be greater than an amount the United States Supreme Court sets. I would like an Amendment to the United States Constitution to be passed that gives both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate the ability to reduce the size of awards. An award should be reduced by the amount the United States House of Representatives says when at least 60 percent of the United States House of Representatives votes to reduce the award by that amount. An award should be reduced by the amount the United States Senate says when at least 60 percent of the United States Senate votes to reduce the award by that amount. The President of the United States of America should have the power to veto these decisions. The United States of America Supreme Court should have the power to veto these decisions. At least 67 percent of the members of the United States House of Representatives and at least 67 percent of the members of the United States Senate would be necessary to overturn a veto decision made by the President of the United States of America. The United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate should not have the power to overturn a veto decision made by the United States of America Supreme Court. I agree with the "Early Offer: Contingency Fee Reform Section" from "Improving The American Legal System: The Economic Benefits of Tort Reform" document. I have not made my mind up about other parts of the document. Amendment Eight of the United States Constitution says "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." I highly recommend that people read "The real life tragedy of the asbestos theatre" written by Amity Shlaes and is published in the May 14, 2002 Financial Times on page 15. I believe that Congress should pass a law that eliminates "the joint and several liability" doctrine because a business and/or person should only be liable for harm the business and/or person actually causes. I believe "the joint and several liability doctrine" is unconstitutional because of Amendment Eight of the United States Constitution. Requiring a business and/or person to take on full liability when the business and/or person is only partially liable is an excessive fine. Requiring a business and/or person to take on full liability when the business and/or person is only partially liable is a cruel and unusual punishment. Amendment Eight of the United States Constitution says "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." The May 13, 2002 Forbes on pages 91 - 98 has an informative article written by Michael Freedman with the title "The Tort Mess: It's even worse than you think. Out - of - control lawsuits are shutting medical practices, killing businesses and costing the economy $200 billion a year." Congress should consider passing a law that says that punitive damage awards may not be greater than an amount Congress sets because of Amendment Eight. Congress should consider passing a law that says that medical malpractice awards may not be greater than an amount Congress sets because of Amendment Eight. Congress should consider passing a law that says that product liability awards may not be greater than an amount Congress sets because of Amendment Eight. Congress should consider passing a law that says that pain and suffering awards may not be greater than an amount Congress sets because of Amendment Eight. The United States Supreme Court also has the power to say that punitive damage awards, medical malpractice awards, product liability awards, pharmaceutical liability awards, and/or pain and suffering awards may not be greater than an amount the United States Supreme Court sets because of Article Three of the United States Constitution which gives the United States Supreme Court the power to judge (determine) what Amendment Eight of the United States Constitution means by excessive fines, cruel punishments, and unusual punishments.