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Pre-Gaming the Supremes’ Big Punitive Damages Case 

Corporations might be careful what they ask for: It’s hard to divine how the new guys will vote on this issue, which has no clear ideological lines. As “strict constructionists,” Justices Scalia and Thomas have refused to go along with rulings that set caps because they don’t see where the Constitution protects against “excessive punitive damages.” Joining Scalia and Thomas is Justice Ginsburg, who also opposes caps. A worst-case scenario for Big Business would have Roberts and Alito agreeing with Scalia, Thomas, and Ginsburg, creating a five-justice majority that could allow for larger punitive damages verdicts.

In today’s New York Times, Adam Cohen calls the State Farm and BMW rulings “remarkably ‘activist’ by all the traditional measures” because they take the “due process” clause and “translate it into a right that is not at all apparent from the words’ plain meaning.” The case, writes Cohen, “will tell us a lot about the John Roberts court, which may be the most pro-business court in decades.”

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Ill Fort Lauderdale man tackling Big Tobacco on his own 

Larry Williamson wants tobacco companies to pay him $15 million for his lung disease that stemmed from 51 years of smoking.

And he plans on doing so without an attorney, alone in his plaid button-down shirt on one side of the courtroom, facing well-dressed, well-paid tobacco attorneys at the defense table on the other side.

Williamson, 62, is representing himself in Broward County Circuit Court against tobacco giants R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson and supermarket chain Winn-Dixie for "ruining his life," he said.

"I have a 100 percent chance of winning," said Williamson, who quit smoking two years ago.

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