John Kerry: “The states' tobacco lawyers demand, with more brass than plausibility, that their fees be treated as an island immune…”

“The states' tobacco lawyers demand, with more brass than plausibility, that their fees be treated as an island immune from Congress' general jurisdiction over the settlement. Now, the Faircloth amendment agrees with Mr. Will's analysis and simply says that no trial lawyer's sweetheart deal is an island. I firmly believe that we cannot settle these State deals and create a sweeping Federal regulatory scheme for tobacco without also regulating the fees. Let me repeat something that others have forcefully said. No bill should leave the Senate of the United States that does not deal with the unjust enrichment of lawyers contained in this bill. Let me read another piece that makes similar points. The article appeared in a home State newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader: Question: If on election day you were asked to chose between a political candidate who promised to work for a reasonable salary, and another candidate who wanted to be paid 25 percent of the government's proceeds, an amount which could reach billions of dollars, which candidate would you vote for? Many voters thought they were voting for the former, but are getting the latter. That's because several dozen states have chosen to farm out legal work to lawyers who will be paid not for the number of hours they work but a percentage of the proceeds from lawsuits.”