Alex Epstein från ARI har skrivit en ny op-ed, ”The Lynching of Big Tobacco”. Det Epstein berättar om i denna op-ed är något av det värsta jag har läst på mycket länge:

America is a nation that reveres the fact that ours is ”a government of laws, not of men.” Under this principle, members of government can use their power only to enforce known and clearly defined laws. As a result, we do not worry about losing our property or being thrown in jail just because we are unpopular or because some government official dislikes us.

The rule of law is a precondition of a free society, but by itself does not guarantee that freedom will be protected; it is possible for citizens and lawmakers to pass laws that violate individual rights. Thus, it is crucial that citizens have political and legal recourse to argue for a law to be changed, repealed or overturned. What a proper legal system must not allow, however, is for anyone to take the law into his own hands; when such vigilantism is allowed in place of the rule of law, no one’s rights are safe.

Any American who understands the importance of this principle should be concerned with the case of Engle vs. Liggett Group, on which the Florida Supreme Court is set to render final judgment. The 2001 Engle verdict ordered tobacco companies to pay $165 billion in immediate, punitive damages in the name of their alleged crimes against 700,000 Florida smokers.

The unprecedented punishment was arrived at via a trial that, as documented thoroughly by a 2003 appellate ruling overturning the verdict, flouted the law to a staggering degree.

Läs resten här.