American Justice Partnership

<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">native am climate change suit</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see NAM legal arm MAP</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> also REDMAP</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">404 --></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140307195119/http://americanjusticepartnership.com/">https://web.archive.org/web/20140307195119/http://americanjusticepartnership.com/</a></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ceo alarm tort reform, class action vioxx</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140910222438/http://americanjusticepartnership.com/CEO_alarm.php">https://web.archive.org/web/20140910222438/http://americanjusticepartnership.com/CEO_alarm.php</a></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Excessive tort litigation costs are estimated at $589 billion, but state-level liability lawsuits cost more than just indemnities, legal fees and G/A. There are substantial hidden costs.</font></p><div class="about_content" style="margin: 33px 140px 0px 175px;"><div class="about_red_text" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Liability Crisis Hidden Costs</font></div><div class="about_content_snippet" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Damage to share value and reputation. Increasingly, the plaintiff's bar is mounting PR campaigns and analyst briefings designed to drive down share value to force companies to settle even when they've done nothing wrong:</font></div><ul style="margin: 1px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Merck lost $40 billion in value after the filing of Vioxx lawsuits.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The HMO industry lost $12 billion in value in one day after a Dickie Scruggs press conference.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tort lawsuits reduce stockholder wealth by $684 billion each year.</font></li></ul><div class="about_content_snippet" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Higher litigation reserves, insurance costs and employee health care costs.</font></div><ul style="margin: 1px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$124 billion of total health care costs is attributable to defensive medicine/litigation concerns. The lions share falls on employers that provide employee health insurance.</font></li></ul><div class="about_content_snippet" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stunted innovation/lost sales.</font></div><ul style="margin: 1px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Inhibited research and development results in a $367 billion annual loss in sales of new products.</font></li></ul><div class="about_red_text" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bottom Line</font></div><div class="about_content_snippet" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Liability Reform Objectives</font></div><ul style="margin: 1px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1. Reduce the risk of "bet the company" lawsuits and lawsuits that threaten share value, company reputation or product image.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2. Slow the increase and eventually reduce unwarranted litigation costs.</font></li></ul><div class="about_content_snippet" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Liability Reform Strategies</font></div><ul style="margin: 1px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1. Selection of "rule of law" state court judges, governors, legislators and attorneys general.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2. Legislation and court rules that end perverse incentives for meritless lawsuits and restore fairness and predictability.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3. Engage the public so they understand how a broken legal system hurts them every day.</font></li></ul></div><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr;"><div class="mw-parser-output" style=""><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"The <b>American Justice Partnership</b> states it is a national organization dedicated to <b>promoting free enterprise and winning legal reform in the states</b>." AJP is an affiliate of the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Association_of_Manufacturers" title="National Association of Manufacturers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Association of Manufacturers</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Justice_Partnership#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The AJP is a conservative legal organization based not in Maine, but in Michigan. On their <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://americanjusticepartnership.com/fundee.php" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.0%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22" standalone="%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E%3Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22/%3E%3C/svg%3E" stroke="%22%2306c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" cpath="Cpath" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">website</a>, the group states they are fighting against "the scheming George Soros money machine," which is "trying to sabotage your right to vote," a claim apparently made without a hint of irony. Though the AJP doesn't disclose where its funding comes from, the Bangor Daily News <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bangordailynews.com/2011/12/22/politics/last-minute-campaign-donations-becoming-the-norm-in-maine/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.0%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22" standalone="%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E%3Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22/%3E%3C/svg%3E" stroke="%22%2306c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" cpath="Cpath" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">notes</a> that it has partnered with the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="American Legislative Exchange Council" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC) in the past, a group that has been <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news/2011/05/10711/voter-suppression-bills-sweep-country" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.0%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22" standalone="%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E%3Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22/%3E%3C/svg%3E" stroke="%22%2306c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" cpath="Cpath" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">instrumental</a> in the proliferation of voter ID laws across the country.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Justice_Partnership#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Leadership"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Leadership</font></span></h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("");" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.1%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E%0A%3C/svg%3E%0A" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dan_Pero&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Dan Pero (page does not exist)" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Dan Pero</a>, President</font></li></ul><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contact_Details"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contact Details</font></span></h2><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Justice Parternship
600 South Walnut Street
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: 517-371-7276
Fax 517-371-7277
URL: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.americanjusticepartnership.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.0%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22" standalone="%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E%3Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22/%3E%3C/svg%3E" stroke="%22%2306c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" cpath="Cpath" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" word-wrap="word-wrap" break-word="break-word" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">http://www.americanjusticepartnership.org</a></font></p><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="References"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">References</font></span></h2><div class="mw-references-wrap" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Justice_Partnership#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up</span>↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">American Justice Partnership <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.americanjusticepartnership.org/about.php" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.0%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22" standalone="%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E%3Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22/%3E%3C/svg%3E" stroke="%22%2306c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" cpath="Cpath" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">About</a>, organizational webpage, accessed December 31, 2011</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Justice_Partnership#cite_ref-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up</span>↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Scott Keyes <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/28/395496/maine-election-day-registration-alec-group/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="%221.0%22" encoding="%22UTF-8%22" standalone="%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E%3Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22/%3E%3C/svg%3E" stroke="%22%2306c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" cpath="Cpath" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">ALEC-Linked Group Revealed As Major Secret Donor In Referendum On Maine Voting Rights</a>, published blog/article, ThinkProgress.org, December 28, 2011</span></font></li></ol></div></div></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both;"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Categories</a>: </font><ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 0px; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Stubs" title="Category:Stubs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stubs</a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Politics_(U.S.)" title="Category:Politics (U.S.)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Politics (U.S.)</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Lobbying" title="Category:Lobbying" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Lobbying</a></li></ul></div></div><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Southeastern Legal Foundation

Southeastern Legal Foundation is a constitutional public interest law firm and policy center founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1976. The Foundation advocates constitutional liberties, free enterprise, and limited government in the courts of law and public opinion. The Foundation has litigated more than two dozen times in the Supreme Court of the United States.

For more information, visit <a href="http://www.southeasternlegal.org">w</a><a href="http://www.southeasternlegal.org.">ww.southeasternlegal.org.</a></font>

<b>American Justice Partnership</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LESS A LEGAL ORG THAN A ONE MAN PR SHOP?</font>

The American Justice Partnership is a national nonprofit coalition of leading corporations, think tanks, foundations, trade associations, individuals and organizations <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">advocating for legal reform at the state level. </span>AJP is an affiliate of the <b>National Association of Manufacturers</b>.

For more information, visit <a href="http://www.AmericanJusticePartnership.org">w</a><a href="http://www.AmericanJusticePartnership.org.">ww.AmericanJusticePartnership.org.</a></font>

<a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/11/05/242354030/from-social-welfare-groups-a-river-of-political-influence"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">http://www.npr.org<b>/2013</b>/11/05/242354030/from-social-welfare-groups-a-river-of-political-influence</font></a>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Part one of the two-part "Secret Persuasion" investigation</b>, reported with the Center for Responsive Politics.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bruce Pregler, a lawyer in the Detroit suburbs, is president of the Anglers of the Au Sable.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christine Arrasmith/NPR</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bruce Pregler walks down the slope from his cabin, eases into the Au Sable River and casts his line; fishing takes his thoughts away from his downstate law practice.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He stands in the flowing water, holding his fishing rod, and gazes at the river around him. "You can't look at it from the bridge or a lodge," he says of the Au Sable, one of Michigan's prime spots for trout fishing. "You need to float it, walk it, wade it, fish it, enjoy it. And my wife and I thought so highly of it, we had our daughter baptized right here at this spot."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But the Au Sable represents more than just Michigan fly-fishing at its best. As Pregler knows, it's also a setting that reveals powerful and secretive new influence in American political campaigns.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Three years ago the river was caught in an environmental battle, and a local conservation group called the<b> Anglers of the Au Sable sued Michigan's environmental agency.</b> Pregler, president of the Anglers, watched as the case became subsumed in a <b>state supreme court election financed in large part by nationally funded advocacy groups. Money came from unions, corporations and tax-exempt social welfare organizations.</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Social welfare groups — known as 501(c)(4)s, </b>after their designation in tax law — are becoming a vehicle of choice for big donors to hide large donations in politics.</span> Unlike donors to political committees, those who give to social welfare groups can give unlimited amounts while remaining private and bypassing public disclosure laws.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NPR and the Center for Responsive Politics investigated the world of these secretive social welfare groups, using tax records to track money not otherwise reported and found that millions of dollars is traded between groups. CRP data show that their federal political spending increased more than 80-fold between the 2004 and 2012 election cycles. It's an abrupt swing in campaign financing.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">We also found that significant sums of money are moved around within networks of social welfare groups, as some organizations finance others. Overall, transfers among the groups have exceeded $386 million since 2008.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Conservative groups are better financed and more numerous than liberal groups — at least so far. For example, CRP data show that in the 2012 presidential, Senate and House campaigns, conservative groups constitute five of the six 501(c)(4)s that spent more than $10 million in explicitly political advertising.</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But none of this affected the Au Sable until the 2010 elections.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Appointment Of Alton Davis</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Back in 2005, an energy company wanted to pump treated — but still polluted — water into the Au Sable watershed. When the state approved the plan, Pregler says the Anglers "looked at this and said, 'Why are you transferring contaminated water from one watershed to a clean, pure water?' " And they sued.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The case wound up at the Michigan State Supreme Court, where, as Pregler says, it took some real twists. The first twist: One justice abruptly resigned, and Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed a new one. Incoming Justice Alton Davis tipped the court's balance from conservative to liberal, and he sympathized with the Anglers' arguments.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">About This Investigation</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In partnership: NPR and the Center for Responsive Politics</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NPR's Power, Money and Influence Correspondent Peter Overby reported this story with Viveca Novak, editorial director, and Robert Maguire, political nonprofits investigator, from the Center for Responsive Politics. For this investigation, they used tax records to map out the relationships between social welfare organizations. To dive deeper into this story, you can explore CRP's database tracking political nonprofit spending since 2008.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A composite image shows part of the NPR/Center for Responsive Politics reporting team's whiteboard at NPR headquarters that was used to map out how Wellspring connects to other social welfare groups. (Click the enlarge button to see a full-size image.)</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NPR News Investigations</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Part 2: How Big Campaign Donors Stay Anonymous</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But even as Davis was taking his seat, he had to run in an election to stay there. The race became a magnet for out-of-state ideological money.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">That November, Davis lost. In 2011, with Davis off the bench, the court reconsidered his decision and reversed it, ruling against the Anglers.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Davis had run for judgeships before, usually unopposed, and hardly ever having to raise serious money. This time was different. </b>"I was well behind the curve," he said in an interview on his pontoon boat at Lake Margarethe, near the Au Sable. Outside money was pouring in, mostly against him.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Right off, an attack ad started running on radio stations</b> in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan's two dominant media markets. It said the resignation of Davis' predecessor and his appointment were a "sleazy deal" that was "designed to pack Alton Davis on to the Supreme Court."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The ad came from a social welfare group called the American Justice Partnership.</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Davis didn't pay much attention. He had a campaign to run — "such as it was," he says ruefully — and he was on the road, driving himself from one campaign event to the next. "I just plugged the iPod in," he recalls. "I didn't want to hear all that stuff."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>And now, three years later, he says of the 2010 supreme court election, "When I look back at the whole deal, I think it was a disgusting exercise."</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After the election, the new court's conservative majority took charge.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>A New Way Of Doing Politics</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Was this something the American Justice Partnership had in mind when it ran the attack ads against Davis?</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alton Davis lost his seat on the Michigan State Supreme Court after an attack ad — funded by the American Justice Partnership — influenced his re-election.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christine Arrasmith/NPR</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It wasn't on the group's radar, says Dan Pero, president of AJP. "My brother didn't like that decision either, actually, because he fishes the Au Sable," Pero says, referring to the reversal of Davis' decision. But Pero then adds: "The law's the law. So change the law. And don't ask the court to do it for you."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">AJP's slogan is "Tipping the scales for legal reform." In practice over the years, that has meant targeting liberal judges for defeat.</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Pero says AJP's donors are mainly corporations and businesspeople.</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"Business, frankly, got tired of getting slapped around on these<b> activist courts</b></span><b> </b>and decided to support candidates that they thought were more<b> rule of law</b> and they started contributing to those endeavors." he says.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And not just in Michigan, where Pero lives and works. "People who support us don't give for a specific state. You really can't target your contributions that way anyway. You believe in our goals and where we want to play." In 2010, Pero's list of states to play in included Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Alabama and Michigan.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We were involved in all of those areas," he says.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But what is the "we" in the American Justice Partnership? As a social welfare group, it doesn't have to say who gives it money.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When other social welfare groups donate money to one another, however, the donor groups must disclose that information to the IRS. So CRP and NPR used those IRS records to map out the finances of AJP and more than 100 other social welfare organizations.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">We traced nearly $2.5 million going to AJP in 2010 alone, coming from largely invisible groups seeking to influence political issues around the nation. Among them: the<b> <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Wellspring Committee</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">, based in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.</span></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Asked about Wellspring, AJP's Pero says he doesn't remember them. </b>"I mean, it's been three years," he says. "If they support us, thank God. God bless them if they supported us, because it means they support our agenda."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pero is describing a new way of doing politics.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donors give to groups like Wellspring because they believe in an ideology. Wellspring gives to groups like the American Justice Partnership because its ads can sway voters. Candidates like Alton Davis win or lose at the hands of funders who might not even know who they are.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It's all invisible to voters. And it happens far away from places like the Au Sable River.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This story was reported by NPR's Peter Overby, together with Viveca Novak and Robert Maguire from the Center for Responsive Politics. Read part two here.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">from their website:</font></p>

<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">President, American Justice Partnership</font>

</div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dan Pero is President of the American Justice Partnership, a nationwide coalition to advocate for legal reform at the state level. Mr. Pero is a leading expert in political campaigns and issues management with more than 30 years experience in state government, grassroots organizing, communications and public affairs and was named Michigan's best Republican political consultant of the past 50 years by the Michigan Political History Society.</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2004, he was executive director of the highly successful state legal reform effort that has since become the American Justice Partnership.</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Pero served as <b>Chief of Staff and Campaign Manager for former three-term Michigan Governor John Engler.</b> The legal reform successes achieved in Michigan are widely viewed as the definitive model for legal reform at the state level.</font></div><div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Pero managed the 1996 presidential campaign for former<b> Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander </b>and served as a strategist, media producer and consultant to candidates for President of the United States, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and for successful ballot initiatives in Texas and Michigan.</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He was a founding partner of Sterling Corporation, a public affairs, issues management and political consulting firm based in Lansing, MI. Prior to Sterling, Mr. Pero was Managing Director of the Michigan office of Weber-Shandwick Worldwide, then the largest public relations company in the world, where he provided clients with message development, branding, marketing, communications and strategic counsel.</font></div><div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Previously, Mr. Pero served as vice-president of public affairs for Eckerd Corporation, one of the nation's largest retail drug store companies, where he was corporate spokesperson and managed government and pharmacy relations, directed internal and external communications, and administered Eckerd's political action committee.</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He was a member of the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees for 9 years and served as Chairman in 2007. Mr. Pero also was a gubernatorial appointee to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, the Pontiac Stadium Building Authority and the Michigan Film Commission. Mr. Pero has also been an Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University where he taught campaign planning, message development and communications. He earned a Bachelor of Science at Western Michigan University and is a graduate of the Harvard School of State and Local Executives.</font></div>

<div class="about_content_snippet"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dan lives with his wife, Colleen, and their two children in Laingsburg, Michigan.</font></div>

<p>

<div class="content"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Justice Partnership is proud to announce the first

annual recipient of our <b>Guardian of Justice Award, Michigan

Supreme Court Justice Robert Young.</b> Justice Young has

protected and sustained the U.S. Constitution, defended

our nation’s principles of justice, and adhered to the

intentions and ideals of our country’s Founders.</font></div><div class="content"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div>

</div>

<div class="content"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Through his tireless work serving the people of Michigan, Justice Young’s scholarly opinions have consistently upheld the rule of law and embodied judicial restraint in a legal environment that aims to undermine both. A model jurist, Justice Young is a firm believer in the important role of our courts, defending against the encroachment of the legislative and executive branches on the judiciary, and thereby preserving the separation of powers.</font></div>

<div class="tagline"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">We are pleased to name Justice Young a Guardian of Justice.</font></div>

</div>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">lawyer website:</font></p>

<h1><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young Tends to Rule in Favor of Corporations and Against People</font></h1>

</div>

<div class="attorneyName"><a href="http://www.injuryboard.com/David-Mittleman/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">David Mittleman</font></a></div>

</div>

<div class="attorneyText"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney

</div>

<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="blogAuthor"> Posted by <a href="http://www.injuryboard.com/David-Mittleman/">David Mittleman</a> </span><span class="blogDate">January 19, 2009 </span>

 </font></p>

<div class="iconsWrapper"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="bookmarkLink" href="http://lansing.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/michigan-supreme-court-justice-robert-young-tends-to-rule-in-favor-of-corporations-and-against-people.aspx?googleid=255548#comments"><img src="/c8713dd8-1fc1-56fe-9ab1-87d9707578fb.gif"/>3 Comments</a><a class="bookmarkLink" onmouseover="window.status='Print this article'; return true" href="javascript:Clickheretoprint('http://www.injuryboard.com/printfriendly.aspx?id=255548')"><img src="/426450ee-0743-54d3-8a08-e460e29b9285.gif"/>Print Article</a><a class="bookmarkLink" href="http://lansing.injuryboard.com/index.xml"> </a><a id="subscribe" name="subscribe"><img src="/e69c7a39-8157-5297-ae20-e246ba5f2653.gif"/></a><a class="bookmarkLink" href="http://lansing.injuryboard.com/index.xml">Subscribe</a></font></div>

<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://courts.michigan.gov/SUPREMECOURT/AboutCourt/biography.htm"><u>Justice Young</u></a> is a former <a href="http://www.attorneybutler.net/2009/01/michigan-supreme-court-justice-robert-young-on-the-common-law-with-glossary-and-gazeteer."><u>insurance company lawyer</u></a> who has been an activist judge on <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/"><u>Michigan</u></a>’s highest court, using his position to push his anti-worker, anti-civil rights, and anti-consumer agenda, ruling for insurance companies 80% of the time</span>. He has been a member of the <a href="http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/"><u>Michigan Supreme Court</u></a> since 1999 and is up for re-election in 2010. His closest friend on the <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20090111/COL04/901110388/1007/NEWS/GOP+justices+face+Gang+of+3+1/2"><u>Court</u></a>, with whom he voted virtually 100% of the time - Cliff Taylor - was defeated last November when the people said "enough" to the "Gang of Four" established by former Governor John Engler.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Here are some of Justice Young’s worst decisions:</font></p>

<ul>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled to protect sexual predators against the claims of women who were the victims of workplace rape and sexual harassment.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young's decisions have made it harder for unions to organize and bargain.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled in favor of Michigan's infamous drug industry immunity law, which shields companies from responsibility when their products harm or kill people.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled to restrict workers' compensation benefits.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled in favor of Proposition 2 in 2006, the anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, allowing it on the ballot.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled to protect drunk drivers by making it harder to hold them accountable for the deaths, injuries, and damage they cause.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young changed Michigan law, blocking citizens' rights to take action and protect the environment.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled in favor of requiring voters to present a photo ID.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young ruled to gut and effectively destroy Michigan's Consumer Protection Act, once one of the best in the nation.</font></li>

<li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And Young is certain to lead the effort to gerrymander Michigan's legislative districts against Democrats if he is still on the bench for the looming redistricting in 2011.</font></li>

</ul>

<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Watch his recent interview on WKAR "<a href="http://wkar.org/offtherecord/program.php?num=3828"><u>Off the Record</u></a>" with senior capitol correspondent Tim Skubick, Chris Christoff, Rick Pluta, and Susan Demas, and judge for yourself if we want Justice Young to continue serving on our highest court.</font>

<div align="center"><font class="ws24" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Engler's Supreme Court Appointee<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Robert Young; Bad for Michigan and YOU</span></b></font></div>

</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    Robert Young was originally an appointee of Republican Governor John Engler. Young's background is representing big-business corporations. His decisions consistently favor large corporations over workers and consumers. He was a member of what was called the infamous "Gang of Four" (until Chief Justice Taylor was defeated in the 2008 election). "The Gang" were four very conservative members of the "Federalist Society" that were far to the right of lower-court judges. They weakened laws on civil rights, environmental preservation, and consumer protection and aided Republican big-business special interest groups. Young often legislates from the bench. For example, he wrote an opinion that departed from the clear wording of the Michigan Environmental Protection Act.</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    Take a look at five cases where Robert Young made bad decisions, violating both the law and your interests. This analysis was written by Bob Ciaffone in cooperation with Rudy Serra of the Justice Caucus. We will give you the name of the decision, a summary of it, and an internet link to reading the whole text of the decision. If you have time, please read the whole case and see from where our analysis was derived.</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Let's work to get Robert Young off the Supreme Court and back into corporate law where he belongs.</b></font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font size="4"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" style=" background-color: #FFFFFF;"><b>Bad Decision #1:</b></font><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"> Young blocked citizens' rights to take action and protect the environment. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation v Nestle Waters North America, Inc, 479 Mich 280 (2004)(5-2 decision with Weaver concurring in result only, changed 30 years of Michigan case law that said "any person" meant "<u>any</u> person").</font></font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>SUMMARY</b></font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    This awful decision stripped the people of Michigan of a right that had been guaranteed to them in the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, a law specifically called for the legislature to make by the Michigan Constitution. The law said that "any person" could bring suit to protect the environment of our state.</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    Two lakes, a stream, and some wetlands were being deprived of an adequate amount of water by a commercial bottling plant that was extracting its water from the underground source of those bodies of water.</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    The Michigan Supreme Court basically denied standing to people owning property on the water, saying that groundwater was not part of the environment that was protected by the Michigan Constitution!</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    We know about the inter-relation of groundwater and surface water; which is of great importance to the environment. Aquifers are a key part of supplying lakes and streams with needed water. This decision stripped Michigan of needed protection for our "Water Wonderland."</font></div>

<div><font size="4"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman">An environmental group's write-up of this decision is available at: </font><a href="http://www.justice4michigan.org/files/hfp_nestle_case.pdf" title="Water Conservation v Nestle"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman">http://www.justice4michigan.org/files/hfp_nestle_case.pdf</font></a></font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font size="4"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"><b>Bad Decision #2:</b></font><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"> Young ruled in favor of requiring voters to present a photo ID. In re Request for Advisory Opinion Regarding Constitutionality of 2005 PA 71, 479 Mich 1 (2007)(5-2 decision).</font></font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>SUMMARY</b></font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">    This opinion was written by Justice Robert Young. It upheld a law requiring any voter who lacked a photo ID to sign an affidavit of identity before voting, and then cast a provisional ballot</span>.</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    Asking for a photo ID has a tendency to suppress the vote turnout of people who lack such an ID. A smaller turnout of such voters benefits the Republican Party while harming the Democratic Party. Many poor people do not have appropriate photo identification. Further, they often misunderstand the law and think you need to show an ID to vote. They often don't know they have the right to cast a provisional ballot. Such people can also have their vote discounted after casting a provisional ballot. If the election is a close one - that requires a re-count, their provisional ballot can be challenged.</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">This law might be reasonable if there were widespread voter fraud. That would give the state a compelling interest in preserving the purity of the vote. However, the state failed to submit any evidence of voter fraud in this case. The photo ID law addressed a hypothetical problem--and created a real problem in doing so.</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    The full text of this decision, including dissents, is available at the below website:</font></div>

<div><a href="http://coa.courts.mi.gov/documents/OPINIONS/FINAL/SCT/20070718_S130589_44_advisoryopinion1nov06-op.pdf" title="Photo ID Case"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4" color="#000000">http://coa.courts.mi.gov/documents/OPINIONS/FINAL/SCT/20070718_S130589_44_advisoryopinion1nov06-op.pdf</font></a></div>

</font></div>

<div><font size="4"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"><b>Bad Decision #3:</b></font><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"> Young's decisions have made it harder for unions to organize and bargain. Pontiac Fire Fighters Union Local 376 v City of Pontiac, 482 Mich 1 (2008), as part of DETROIT FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION IAFF LOCAL 344, Plaintiff-Appellee,</font></font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">v No. 131463 CITY OF DETROIT, Defendant-Appellant.</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">(4-3 decision reversing circuit court's preliminary injunction to block laying off firefighters).</font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>SUMMARY</b></font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    The Michigan Supreme Court overturned decisions of two lower courts on this issue. The union and the city were operating under binding arbitration that had been going on for years. The city laid off a large number of firefighters, endangering public safety. The lower courts placed an injunction on the layoffs, but the Michigan Supreme Court said this injunction was improper because there had been insufficient evidence to show public endangerment. This decision put the union at a large disadvantage in the arbitration process and created a greater public safety problem as well.</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    Does a firefighter or citizen actually need to burn to death to show that the injunction to maintain an adequate number of firefighters was needed and appropriate?</font></div>

<div><a href="http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Clerk/11-07/131463/131463-Opinion.pdf" title="Michigan Consumer Protection Act case"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4" color="#000000">http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Clerk/11-07/131463/131463-Opinion.pdf</font></a></div>

</font></div>

<div><font size="4"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"><b>Bad Decision #4:</b></font><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"> Young ruled to gut and effectively destroy Michigan's Consumer Protection Act, once one of the best in the nation. Liss v Lewiston-Richards, Inc, 478 Mich 203 (2007)(5-2 decision overruling two recent cases, which basically allowed defendants to abuse an exception of the MCPA by doing things that are prohibited by the statute creating the exception).</font></font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>SUMMARY</b></font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    Justice Kelly (in dissent) summarized the faultiness of the decision. She said, "By ruling as it does, the majority has essentially decided that merely being a licensee in a regulated industry qualifies one for the exemption. Nothing indicates that the Legislature intended such a result."</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    The Lisses sued under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. The defendant was a builder who performed sloppy work and failed to complete their home in the agreed-upon time span.</font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    A "regulated industry" is exempt from the MCPA. However, this is not the same as saying anyone who is licensed by the state of Michigan to do a certain thing cannot be sued under this act. Licensing someone is not the same as regulating them. Regulation gives a much greater degree of oversight than merely granting a license.</font></div>

<div><a href="http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Clerk/11-07/131463/131463-Opinion.pdf" title="A Michigan Consumer Protection Act case"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4" color="#000000">http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/clerk/Opinions-06-07-Term/130064.pdf</font></a></div>

</font></div>

<div><font size="4"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"><b>Bad Decision #5:</b></font><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman"> Young ruled to protect drunk drivers by making it harder to hold them accountable for the deaths, injuries, and damage they cause. Kreiner v Fischer, 471 Mich 109 (2004)(judicially changing the serious impairment threshold), cited by Gagne v Schulte, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, decided February 28, 2006 (Docket No. 264788)(drunk driver found not liable because Plaintiff failed to meet Kreiner standard).</font></font></div>

</font></div>

<div><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>SUMMARY</b></font></div>

<div align="justify"><font class="ws18" face="Times New Roman" size="4">    This decision set a higher bar for getting compensated for injuries sustained in an automobile accident than was intended by the Michigan legislature when it adopted no-fault insurance. This Michigan Supreme Court decision was by a 4-3 margin. It overruled two lower court decisions. (It brings to mind the George Bush attempt to change the definition of torture by requiring death or organ failure as a prerequisite.) "Serious impairment" should not require missing body parts or total loss of functionality.</font></div>