Lamar Smith: “I thank Chairman Goodlatte for yielding. A couple of things. First of all, we have found in the past that the judiciary…”

“I thank Chairman Goodlatte for yielding. A couple of things. First of all, we have found in the past that the judiciary, of course, always opposes anyone else changing these rules except for themselves. That is no surprise, that they object to this change that we propose today. That doesn't mean the change isn't a good one, but that is their history. If they didn't think of the change, they don't like it. Clearly, this is good for the American people because it reduces the number of frivolous lawsuits. The gentleman from Tennessee mentioned a poll a few minutes ago. I would like, first of all, to mention a poll that was taken when this rule was in effect in 1990. At that point, 751 Federal judges responded to that survey, and they overwhelmingly supported a rule 11 with mandatory sanctions. The gentleman mentioned, I believe, a 2005 survey. In that survey, only 278 judges responded. Over half of the judges who responded had no experience under this stronger rule 11 because they were appointed to the bench after 1992. So the 2005 survey tells us very little about how judges actually view the stronger versus the weaker rule 11. It is just amazing to me to hear individuals try to justify these frivolous lawsuits. There is no effort in this bill to deny individuals the right to file lawsuits if they have legitimate claims.…”