Issue Position: Tort Reform/Reasonableness Dismissals

Issue Position

Our civil litigation system influences our behavior in ways big and small because people are afraid they might be sued. Sometimes, the mere idea of fighting a lawsuit is enough to terrify anyone from taking an action that might be socially desirable (e.g. helping out a stranger in need), and we shouldn't have a legal system that discourages them.

Justice always requires judgment, but we too often strip that from our judges. Nowhere is this more apparent than the ability of spurious lawsuits to make it to trial.

Judges should be able to dismiss any lawsuit during its initial stages purely for being unreasonable. There can be an appeal process, but that process should be one that's fought between the plaintiff and an appeals court, not between a plaintiff and the person being unreasonably sued.

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