Peanuts and the Law Mike Rappaport

How does the law resemble the world of Charlie Brown?  The best answer is probably that it often promises one thing and then changes its mind after the fact, as Lucy removed the football from Charlie Brown each and every time.

But there are other ways.  From the Cato Blog is this:

Snigdha Prakash reported on a new study showing that heart problems from Vioxx can last up to a year after you stop taking the drug. She quoted only critics of Vioxx and gave no indication that there might be another side to the story. She noted that Merck has won three trials and lost three so far; she didn t remind us of the famous quote from Merck s highest-profile loss:

Jurors who voted against Merck said much of the science sailed right over their heads. Whenever Merck was up there, it was like wah, wah, wah, said juror John Ostrom, imitating the sounds Charlie Brown s teacher makes in the television cartoon. We didn t know what the heck they were talking about. (Merck Loss Jolts Drug Giant, Industry, August 22, 2005, The Wall Street Journal)

Scary stuff, but stuff we knew already.  At least some of us knew it: critics of the tort system and the trial lawyers that manipulate it.