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By Eron Ben-Yehuda
What is believed to be the only legal advocacy group in California with
its own television show broadcasts its message of tort reform across San
Diego County.
The nonprofit organization
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse produces "Gavel of Justice," a
half-hour program that airs twice a week on public-access cable channels.
"Our message is to
educate you, the consumer, about the civil justice
system - the good, the bad, and the
ugly," the Web site of the statewide group's San Diego chapter
states.
How many residents watch
the show, which debuted in 1998, is unclear. It is carried on cable
channels run by Time Warner and Cox Cable, which do not keep track of
ratings for public-access, noncommercial programming, according to their
representative.
The show claims to reach
90 percent of homes in the county that have cable. Cox covers 530,000
residences, Time Warner 200,000.
"Gavel of
Justice" appears to occupy a unique niche.
The tort reform group's
president, Andy Kotner, knows of no other competition on the tube.
Matthew Wetmore of Los
Angeles-based Hemingway Media Group says he hasn't heard of any other
special-interest legal organization with its own television show.
Gail Fetzer, public-access
coordinator for Adelphia Communications, also is unaware of anything quite
like it. But she won't go so far as to call the show one of a kind.
"I can't think of
[another] one, but I wouldn't imagine that they are the only ones in
California," Fetzer says.
Dedicated views don't have
much to watch this month because the shows are reruns. New programs will
begin airing in April, Kotner says.
The show has a basic
format. A host introduces the episode's topic, and a guest then sits for a
one-on-one question-and-answer interview. There is no studio audience, and
viewers don't call in.
"Gavel of
Justice" covers everything from advice on how to comply with laws to
opinions on cases that are making headlines. Past episodes have included
"Introduction to Patent Litigation" and "What's Fair About
California's Unfair Competition Law?"
Channel surfers who tune
in will see two lawyers from San Diego's Latham & Watkins among the
show's February guests.
In Tuesday's episode,
attorney Mark S. Pulliam discusses the subject of "Taxation and
Legislation by Litigation."
His firm partner Kenneth
M. Fitzgerald will speak about perjury, suppression of evidence and
witness tampering Feb. 18. Fitzgerald says these are "common
problems" he's encountered practicing law. On the show, he talks
about how the remedies the justice system
provides to combat these abuses often are ineffective.
On another appearance,
rebroadcast last Tuesday, Fitzgerald spoke about his success in 1998 in
getting a lawsuit against his client, the man who performs as The Famous
San Diego Chicken, thrown out on summary judgment.
The San Diego Chicken was
sued for ridiculing and assaulting a Barney-like character during
performances at baseball and basketball games across the country. The
purple dinosaur's owners, Texas-based Lyons Partnership, filed a copyright
and trademark infringement lawsuit. Fitzgerald argued that the act is a
parody protected under the Copyright Act, the trademark laws and the First
Amendment.
After the suit made
headlines, especially in the chicken's home in San Diego, Fitzgerald says
he was asked to come on the program.
"I talked about the
case and how ridiculous it was," Fitzgerald says.
Fitzgerald supports the
organization's objective.
"I think, generally,
tort reform and curbing frivolous lawsuits is a worthwhile effort,"
he says. "I think the show that I was on was part of the
agenda."
But the shows do more than
criticize what Kotner describes as a "lawsuit-happy, crazed
society."
One program, for example,
discusses the importance of serving on juries. Neal Methvin, San Diego
County Superior Court's jury services manager, came on as a guest. He says
he never believed the organization pushing its agenda during the show.
"It was totally
unbiased," Methvin says. "It was very positive. I'd do it again,
absolutely."
The San Diego chapter of
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse counts 8,200 people as
"supporters," Kotner says. The group doesn't require dues and so
doesn't have members, she says. The organization depends on donations,
with a majority coming from small-business owners, but developers and
retirees, among others, also provide contributions, she says.
The San Diego chapter is
one of six in California and the only one with a television show, Kotner
says.
Statewide, the
organization has 30,000 supporters.
Although determining how
many viewers tune in to "Gavel of Justice" is guesswork, Pulliam
says he gets feedback from people who see him on the show. He says he got
a compliment for his performance from his office building's maintenance
supervisor.
"It turns out that
he's a tort reform supporter," Pulliam says.
Special Note: This
article has been reprinted with the expressed permission of the DAILY
JOURNAL.
This page
was last updated on 04/19/05
©
2002 San
Diego County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
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