Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I also oppose the underlying bill, which I call the wrongdoers protection act for multistate and multinational corporations, and for that purpose I add this amendment. It is no coincidence that these corporate wrongdoers want to force consumers to fight them in the Federal court. That is the effect of this bill, to enlarge Federal court diversity jurisdiction. It is no coincidence that the corporate wrongdoers want to fight there. It is not because they think the Federal judges are better looking or that the Federal judges are more polite or that the decor is nicer in Federal court. No. They want to go there because they are more likely to beat consumers in Federal court cases. After a generation of bad decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States, Federal court has become candy land for corporate wrongdoers, generations of bad decisions that invite and exhort district judges to forget about the 7th Amendment in the Bill of Rights. You remember what that says. It was written by James Madison. It was announced as approved by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, whose statue stands right outside this Chamber. It says this: ``In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.'' There is nothing ambiguous about that.…”