One of the great things about America is our system of free enterprise which provides a thriving marketplace for us all. But this system exists because we have enforceable and meaningful access to a viable civil justice system. It is the trial lawyer that facilitates and provides this access to the civil justice system that benefits all citizens, business, and corporations.
Trial lawyers are the vehicles to provide access to the civil justice system and their role is to make the workplace safe and to protect honest and well intentioned business persons from the unfair business practices of unscrupulous competitors. Trial lawyers are here to help interpret and guide grieving parties to access the civil justice system.
To provide compensation and other remedies to innocent victims who have been injured or harmed by others who have been negligent or careless. This provides damages to those who have suffered, but also sets an example and to deter bad behavior in the future.
Commerce and industry cannot function and thrive without enforceable rules and laws that guide the conduct of persons engaged in commerce. By creating the expectation that wrongdoers will actually be held accountable for their wrongdoing, the United States has created the greatest economic engine the world has ever known.
Access to the civil justice through a jury of our peers has been at the root of our American legal system since the inception of this great country. There is a great reminder in the Federalist Papers No. 83 written by Alexander Hamilton, on how a jury trial in civil cases “is a security against corruption.” The 7th Amendment to our Constitution provides the right by jury trial, which was something totally unheard of in the “old world.” Here in Colorado we have access to a jury trial, not as a constitutional right, but through the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.
Civil justice is here to hold those who harmed someone accountable. We are a society that recognizes that freedom and dignity cannot be assured when a society fails to meaningfully enforce its civil rules and laws that regulate the relations among its citizen in and outside the marketplace. The trial lawyer is always there to stand firm and to enforce the rights and dignity of all individuals and business.
For more thoughts on trial lawyers watch this video.