It is reassuring to know that there are some constants in this topsy-trurvy world, and one of them is the solid, longterm relationship between the advocates of tort "reform," and hypocrisy.

You know what I'm talking about: the companies that complain about those ethically-challenged plaintiffs and their equally sorry lawyers who clog our courts, raise our taxes and generally waste the country's time and money with their frivolous lawsuits.  

But wait!  What happens when those very same people who would close access to civil justice for the injured and the dead, made that way by the negligence of a corporation or hospital, feel that an important right of theirs needs the attention of the courts?  For instance, what if the FDA dared to allow realistic photographs showing the well-known results of smoking on the packages of the cigarettes that American consumers buy?

Why, suddenly those same companies that hatched the tort "reform" agenda start to moan like so many bitches in heat.  And they do so through access to the civil justice system, where they claim that their First Amendment rights are being violated, according to Gothamist. For a more in-depth look, see this article from the NY Daily News.

Does this have anything to do with the First Amendment? Not unless the First Amendment has been changed without my knowledge to say: "There shall be no impediments to achieving the highest sales figures possible when knowingly selling harmful products to US consumers."