Tag Archives: Justice

Equal Access to Justice in the USA an Unfinished Task, says World Justice Project

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Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 27, 2012

The USA continues to lag behind two-thirds of wealthy nations as well as some middle-income countries such as Botswana, Chile and Uruguay, in delivering civil justice, according to the World Justice Projects Rule of Law Index 2012 report.

These findings suggest that no progress has been made to bridge the gap between rich and poor in access to the legal system and to guarantee equal treatment for ethnic minorities, despite the Obama Administrations overarching initiative launched in February 2010. In the area of criminal justice the USA ranks 26th among 97 countries (and 24 out of 29 wealthy nations). In civil justice it ranks 22nd overall and 19th among high income peers. Strengths in checks and balances, free speech and other areas were also found.

Released this week in Washington, D.C., the report ranks countries across eight areas impacting on the rule of law: limits on government power, corruption, security, fundamental rights, open government, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice. The report is the product of interviewing 97,000 members of the general public and more than 2,500 experts in 97 countries.

According to the report, The United States performs well in most dimensions of the rule of law. The country has a well-functioning system of checks and balances (ranking seventeenth) and scores well in respect for fundamental rights, including the rights of association, opinion and expression, religion, and petition. The civil justice system is independent and free of undue influence, but it lags behind in providing access to disadvantaged groups. Legal assistance is frequently expensive or unavailable, and the gap between rich and poor individuals in terms of both actual use of and satisfaction with the civil court system is significant. In addition, there is a perception that ethnic minorities and foreigners receive unequal treatment.

The Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway lead the Western Europe & North America region in most dimensions of the rule of law, followed by The Netherlands, Austria and Germany.

Achieving the rule of law is a constant challenge and a work in progress in all countries. The WJPs Rule of Law Index is not designed to shame or blame, but to provide useful reference points for countries in the same regions, with comparable legal cultures and similar income levels, said World Justice Project founder William H. Neukom.

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About the World Justice Project:

The World Justice Project (WJP) is an independent, non-profit organization working to advance the rule of law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity worldwide. Its work is carried out through three complementary programs: Mainstreaming the rule of law including the convening of the World Justice Forum; the Rule of Law Index; and Research. The WJPs multinational, multidisciplinary efforts are dedicated to stimulating government reforms, developing practical programs at the community level, and increasing public awareness about the concept and practice of the rule of law. For more information about the World Justice Project, please visit http://www.worldjusticeproject.org.

About the WJP Rule of Law Index

Parker Waichman LLP Opposes U.S. Justice Department Effort to Quash Lawsuit over Guatemalan Medical Experiments Conducted by U.S. Government Researchers in the 1940s

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New York, New York (PRWEB) January 11, 2012

Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm, opposes motions recently filed by the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss a proposed individual and class action lawsuit seeking reparations for victims of non-consensual medical experiments conducted by researchers for the U.S. Public Health Service in Guatemala in the 1940s. Last March, Parker Waichman LLP and a partner firm filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and eight current federal officials, including HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, and Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on behalf of the Guatemalan medical experimentation victims (case number 1:11-cv-00527). As the government admits, the lawsuit arises out of a deeply troubling chapter in our nations history. In addition to compensatory and punitive damages for victims of the Guatemalan experiments and their descendants, the lawsuit seeks a declaration that the Defendants violated human rights and an injunction to prohibit further abuses against Guatemalan residents.

According to the federal complaint, between 1946 and 1948, U.S. government medical researchers working in Guatemala intentionally infected upwards of 1,300 prisoners, soldiers and psychiatric patients with syphilis and other sexually transmitted disease without their knowledge or permission in order to investigate the efficacy of penicillin in treating the diseases. The lawsuit cites two causes of action arising under the Alien Tort Statute for violations of the international prohibitions against medical experimentation on non-consenting human subjects and against cruel, inhuman degrading treatment; and two causes arising under the U.S. Constitution, for the violation of the victims’ right to due process and for subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment.

The doctor who led the Guatemalan experiments was John C. Cutler, who also helped coordinate the infamous Tuskegee, Alabama, study where 600 black men with syphilis were left untreated for decades starting in 1932 to follow the course of the treatable disease. The lawsuit alleges the decision to conduct research in Guatemala was part of a deliberate plan to continue the Tuskegee testing offshore, where it would not be subject to the same level of oversight as in the United States.

According to a report from Newsinferno.com, President Barack Obama has formally apologized to the victims and called the Guatemala experiments reprehensible and tragic. The President also directed the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues to investigate the experiments. Last September, the Panel released a report which deemed the experiments unconscionable and called on the U.S. government to create a system to compensate people who are harmed by participation in scientific research.

On Monday, January 9, the U.S. Justice Department filed two motions seeking the dismissal of the lawsuit, asserting, among other arguments, that the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) provides immunity to the U.S. government for all claims based on injuries suffered in foreign countries and that the law provides no remedy for the injured Guatemalan plaintiffs. In fact, says the government, Congress has a general interest in protecting doctors like those who experimented on these Guatemalan citizens without their knowledge.

We vigorously oppose the assertions made by the Justice Department in its motions, and we pledge to continue to fight for the rights of Guatemalans harmed by the reprehensible acts committed by U.S. researchers during the 1940s, states Peter Cambs, Senior Litigation Counsel at Parker Waichman LLP. We will also continue to call on the U.S. government to establish a claims process by which the citizens of Guatemala who were harmed may receive restitution.

Parker Waichman LLP continues to offer free legal consultations to Guatemalan victims of this non-consensual medical experimentation. If you or a member of your family was adversely impacted by these gross violations of human rights, please contact our office by visiting http://www.yourlawyer.com. Free case evaluations are also available by calling 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636).

For more information regarding the Guatemalan medical experimentation lawsuit and Parker Waichman LLP, please visit: http://www.yourlawyer.com or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).

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