Corrupt companies, compliant judges, coverups:
" addiction took early root among miners who were prescribed the blockbuster opioid OxyContin "
"evidence was clearly compelling:"
"Stephens sealed the evidence on which he relied in that ruling"
"more than a dozen other judges overseeing similar lawsuits against Purdue took the same tack, keeping the company’s records secret"
"It would be 12 years – and 245,000 overdose deaths – before evidence Stephens and other judges kept hidden was made public, and then only after it was leaked to a newspaper."
"he doesn’t second-guess his decision ... “It speaks for itself.” "
"Federal Judge Dan Polster is providing the same cover for multiple opioid makers, distributors and retailers"
"a pervasive and deadly secrecy that shrouds product-liability cases in U.S. courts, enabled by judges who routinely allow the makers of those products to keep information pertinent to public health and safety under wraps"
"Reuters found that over the past 20 years, judges sealed evidence relevant to public health and safety in about half of the 115 biggest defective-product cases "
"Reuters found that hundreds of thousands of people were killed or seriously injured by allegedly defective products after judges in just a handful of cases allowed litigants to file under seal, beyond public view, evidence that could have alerted consumers and regulators to potential danger. "
"secrecy has become so ingrained in the system that judges rarely question it"
" Corporate lawyers want to protect their clients’ reputations. Plaintiffs’ lawyers want to avoid miring their clients’ cases in lengthy courtroom wrangling over requests that filings be sealed or redacted. And judges want to keep the business of justice moving."
[comment: "the business of justice" says it all ]
"with one sealing order, a judge can impose secrecy in thousands of cases."
"entire lawsuits have been filed under seal in his court, including supporting evidence drawn from millions of records that detail the industry’s conduct over two decades."
"corporate lobbying has stymied sunshine legislation for decades."
"rule changes moved discovery out of the courthouse and thus out of public view"
"judges sealed entire arguments that dealt directly with the strength of the evidence."
"Demanding transparency can cause protracted delays."
"Egilman, a clinical professor of family medicine at Brown University, made Lilly records he had reviewed in the case available to the New York Times ... Lilly threatened to seek criminal sanctions against Egilman "
"Purdue’s lawyers argued that disclosure would stoke outrage and embarrass the company."
" lawsuit was full of details that could make the company look bad, a Purdue lawyer complained "
"Polster has since ratcheted up the secrecy in his court ... the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rebuked Polster ...It will be up to Polster to decide what the public will be allowed to see. "
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-judges/The finest justice money can buy.
sidd