Orrin Hatch: “Thank you, Mr. President. Now, Mr. President, let me address another point made on the floor last week. It was asked…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. Now, Mr. President, let me address another point made on the floor last week. It was asked, how can Congress know how to limit judges and juries in making punitive damage awards, how can we lay down a rigid law? Mr. President, I find the criticism odd in the extreme. These same Senators would not dream of imposing punishment, be it jailtime or criminal fines or both, on some violent thug, without according that criminal a full panoply of procedural protections, clarity in the law as to what constitutes criminal conduct, and certainly, a defined set of punishments. That is what we do before we seek to punish anyone in our society for criminal misconduct. But, because some of the opponents of change in our civil justice system like to mischaracterize the issue before us as a matter involving only businesses, they apparently could not care less if defendants are punished in a civil case in an almost totally uncontrolled fashion. It is OK I guess in their eyes to bash business. It is OK to unload on large, medium, and small businesses. What the heck, some of our Nation's lawyers make out just fine. Forget about the fact businesses, especaily small businesses, provide the jobs in this country. Forget about the fact they bring new products and services to the American people.”