-----Original Message-----
From: T o d d P a t t i s t ]
Posted At: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 13:21
Posted To: rec.aviation.piloting
Conversation: Thoughts on Oshkosh
Subject: Thoughts on Oshkosh

"Jay Beckman" wrote:

Deleted for brevity...

... Sure there's a lawyer
arguing that everything the stupid pilot did was the fault
of the airplane manufacturer for not installing the
anti-crash doodad, but there's another one just as
vehemently saying that's hogwash. Why are people so afraid
of blaming those who actually have the fate of the case in
their hands - usually the jury

The lawyers are blamed because of the now too common practice of
shopping a case to a sympathetic court and then manipulating jury
staffing to preclude logical, educated decisions in highly technical
cases.

I was an expert witness in a technology case a few years back and got to
see first-hand how the jury was intentionally populated with members
having little or no technical competence and absolutely no business or
finance knowledge. It was not the plaintiff that selected the jury, but
it was the lawyers that caused it to happen.

When courts start restricting courtroom theatrics and ridiculous
activities like jury stacking, only then will we begin to see the
decline of frivolous suits.