Jump to full article: Washington Times, 2003-05-23
Author: Christian Bourge / UPI Think Tanks Correspondent
Intro: The Justice Department's decision to continue to pursue the Clinton-era civil suit against the nation's largest tobacco companies represents poor legal thinking and questionable policy, according to conservative think tank policy analysts.
Robert A. Levy, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said that the Justice Department's decision to pursue the case was surprising.
"This lawsuit is a loser in many respects," Levy said at a forum on the case held Wednesday at Cato. "It is based upon bad law and is certainly bad public policy." . .
"The American public, voters and juries need to know our legal system is rapidly becoming a tool for extortion," said Levy. . .
Schultz, a former Justice Department official involved in the initial examination of the case, said that despite claims by Levy and others that the case is politically motivated, it was permanent Justice Department staff -- not political appointees -- who recommended pursuing the charges.
However, Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that the debate over the lawsuit places opponents' rhetoric at odds with the facts. For one, he said although the Bush administration showed an initial dislike of the case, its position changed following a full examination of the unique set of facts involved. . .
Bass said that much of the government's case is based on press releases put out by the Tobacco Institute, an industry-sponsored research organization, and do not constitute some form of industry conspiracy.
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