Ted Deutch: “Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to vote, the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and…”

“Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to vote, the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and other rights enumerated in the Constitution have an intrinsic value that cannot be adequately expressed in dollars and cents. When a person's constitutional rights are violated, they cannot be made whole entirely with money, and yet the bill that we have before us today would require our judicial system to hang a price tag on our most cherished constitutional rights. Under H.R. 985, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act, if a ``judgment or proposed settlement in a class action provides for equitable relief, the portion of any attorney's fee award to class counsel that is attributed to the equitable relief shall be limited to a reasonable percentage of the value of the equitable relief, including any injunctive relief.'' Mr. Chairman, when a court grants such relief, it is not awarding money to a plaintiff. In these cases, the courts are stepping in to say this is a violation of constitutional rights and it must stop. My amendment would strike the provision in this bill that would devalue our fundamental rights by requiring a highly subjective and wasteful, costly, and demeaning process of putting a price tag on these rights. Worse, it would deter attorneys from bringing critical civil lawsuits that reform systemic and widespread violations of individual rights.…”