Will Edwards be the new AG if obama wins?

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: loki8481
Obama must have promised him something for the endorsement, but a cabinet seat seems a bit much for a guy who's just barely qualified.

"Barely qualified?" The man's been a successful attorney in personal injury cases on behalf of the poor against demonstrably negligent large corporations. He did it all on spec, meaning he wouldn't have made a dime if he hadn't won his cases.

Maybe you'd like to tell us what qualifies you to make such a ridiculous, unsupported statement. :roll:

Yeah, the personal wealth he's accumulated certainly demonstrates helping the poor was his primary motivation. You dont bill $1k an hour if you are working for the poor.

Making a lot of money and believing in government policies which are better for the poor are not mutually exclusive.

I can believe in cancer research and be happy to pay more taxes for it, without having to donate 20 hours a week for a research lab.

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
Harvey, I find it amazing that you presume Edwards, a trial lawyer, works on behalf of the poor. Do you have any information that shows his cases favor the poor over any other segment of the population?

See this paragraph in the middle of page 2 of this article from the Boston Globe:

Racial sensitivity is still an imperative for the Southern liberal, but there are other issues involved as well. This is where Edwards's background as a trial lawyer, and his particular brand of populism, comes in. He built his reputation as an advocate for the poor and middle class, both black and white, in confrontations with big corporations and institutions, and his ability to translate his courtroom success into a political message helps explain the wide support he attracted outside the South in the Democratic primaries. Edwards may not be an old-fashioned white Southern liberal (for one thing, he's too young to have fought in the civil rights struggle), but his work as a trial lawyer seems to qualify him for membership in an historically small club: a Southern populist who appeals across racial lines.

More examples aren't hard to find. Would you like some Grey Poupon with your crow? 😉

Your response included no examples at all of how John Edwards favors the poor. An opinion piece is hardly an example.

I think his citation of the Boston Globe saying that Edwards "built his reputation as an advocate for the poor and middle class" certainly shift the burden to you now.

You post as if you don't have any obligation to do any research and be informed, that you can demand others dance for you and research and post facts at your whim.

No. You are not fulfilling your own obligations to make some effort to be reasonably informed. You go and make the case that the Boston Globe statement is wrong.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx

Your response included no examples at all of how John Edwards favors the poor. An opinion piece is hardly an example.

Are you really that mouse challenged, or are you playing with something else in your hands when you post? 😛

From Wikipedia

John Edwards

Legal career

In 1984 Edwards was assigned to a medical malpractice lawsuit that had been perceived to be unwinnable; the firm had only accepted it as a favor to an attorney and state senator who did not want to keep it. Nevertheless, Edwards won a $3.7 million verdict on behalf of his client, who had suffered permanent brain and nerve damage after a doctor prescribed a drug overdose of the anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse during alcohol aversion therapy.[12] In other cases, Edwards sued the American Red Cross three times, alleging transmission of AIDS through tainted blood products, resulting in a confidential settlement each time, and defended a North Carolina newspaper against a libel charge.[11]

In 1985, Edwards represented a five-year-old child born with cerebral palsy whose doctor did not choose to perform an immediate Caesarean delivery when a fetal monitor showed she was in distress. Edwards won a $6.5 million verdict for his client, but five weeks later, the presiding judge sustained the verdict but overturned the award on grounds that it was "excessive" and that it appeared "to have been given under the influence of passion and prejudice," adding that in his opinion "the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict." He offered the plaintiffs $3.25 million, half of the jury's award, but the child's family appealed the case and received $4.25 million in a settlement.[11] Winning this case established the North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if the patient understood the risks of a particular procedure.[12]

After this trial, Edwards gained national attention as a plaintiff's lawyer. He filed at least twenty similar lawsuits in the years following and achieved verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million for his clients. These successful lawsuits were followed by similar ones across the country. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide, perhaps to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits, Edwards said, "The question is, would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"

In 1993, Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now named Kirby & Holt) with a friend, David Kirby. He became known as the top plaintiffs' attorney in North Carolina. The biggest case of his legal career was a 1997 product liability lawsuit against Sta-Rite, the manufacturer of a defective pool drain cover. The case involved Valerie Lakey a three-year-old girl who was disemboweled by the suction power of the pool drain pump when she sat on an open pool drain whose protective cover other children at the pool had removed, after the swim club had failed to install the cover properly. Despite 12 prior suits with similar claims, Sta-Rite continued to make and sell drain covers lacking warnings. Sta-Rite protested that an additional warning would have made no difference because the pool owners already knew the importance of keeping the cover secured.

In his closing arguments, Edwards spoke to the jury for an hour and a half and referenced his son, Wade, who had been killed shortly before testimony began. Mark Dayton, editor of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, would later call it "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen." The jury awarded the family $25 million, the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history. The company settled for the $25 million while the jury was deliberating additional punitive damages, rather than risk losing an appeal. For their part in this case, Edwards and law partner David Kirby earned the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's national award for public service. The family said that they hired Edwards over other attorneys because he alone had offered to accept a smaller percentage as fee unless the award was unexpectedly high, while all of the other lawyers they spoke with said they required the full one-third fee. The size of the jury award was unprecedented, and Edwards did receive the standard one-third plus expenses fee typical of contingency cases. The family was so impressed with his intelligence and commitment that they volunteered for his Senate campaign the next year.

After Edwards won a large verdict against a trucking company whose worker had been involved in a fatal accident, the North Carolina legislature passed a law prohibiting such awards unless the employee's actions had been specifically sanctioned by the company.

From FindLaw.com

Major Cases Litigated by John Edwards:

PERSONAL INJURY & PRODUCT LIABILITY CASES

Passe v. General Transport Systems, Inc.
(Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1997)

850-lb. box delivered to attorney's home, fell on him breaking his back, causing paraplegia, and confinement to wheelchair.

Weckbacher v. J.B. Hunt Transport Servs., Inc.
(U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D.N.C. 1997)

33-year-old died during rescue attempt after head-on pickup?tractor-trailer collision. Settlement included worker's comp claim.

Buck v. Atlantic Veneer Corp.
(Carteret Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1987)

Worker fractured both ankles, jaw, and skull after fall from 24-foot scaffold in defendant's plywood plant.

Morgan v. Southeast Jurisdictional Admin. Council, Inc.
(Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1988)

14-year-old girl rendered quadriplegic from neck injury resulting from improperly supervised dive into shallow end of defendants' pool.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES

Griffin v. Teague, et al.
(Mecklenburg Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1997)

Application of abdominal pressure and delay in performing c-section caused brain damage to infant and resulted in child having cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia. Verdict set record for malpractice award.

Campbell v. Pitt County Memorial Hosp.
(Pitt County, NC, 1985)

Infant born with cerebral palsy after breech birth via vaginal delivery, rather than cesarean. Established North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if patient understood risks of particular procedure.

Wiggs v. Glover, et al.

Plaintiff alleged infant's severe cerebral palsy was caused by negligent administration of pitocin, failure to use fetal monitor, or timely intervening in baby's fetal distress.

Cooper v. Craven Regional Med. Ctr., et al.

Infant suffered severe brain damage after obstetrician failed to moderate use of Picotin after baby displayed clear fetal distress.

Dixon v. Pitt County Memorial Hospital
(Pitt County, NC)

Birth-related injuries including cerebral palsy and mental retardation allegedly caused by obstetrician's failure to diagnose fetal distress, including umbilical cord wrapped around baby's neck prior to delivery.

Sawyer v. St. Joseph's Hospital

Doctor prescribed drug overdose of anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse, resulting in permanent brain and nerve damage.

Estate of Fuller v. Mazzaglia
38-year-old female committed suicide after psychiatrist discontinued suicide watch.

Allen v. Bostic
(Forsyth Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1991)

Doctor's delay and failure to properrly treat 45-year-old's severely lacerated foot ultimately required amputation of foot three years later.

MOTOR VEHICLE INJURY CASES

Howard v. Collins & Aikman Corp.
(NC Superior Ct., 1990)

Suit against trucking company by estate of man killed by company driver, arguing that company acted recklessly in paying drivers by the mile, thereby encouraging unsafe conduct.

Kim v. Poling & Bacon Construction Co., Inc.
(Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1992)

Head-on car-truck collision injured 5 in car, including 7-year-old who suffered fractured skull and massive brain injury

Casey, et al. v. Fredrickson Motor Exp. Corp.
(Buncombe Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1991)

Part-time employee suffered severe brain damage after vehicle collided with defendant's semi-truck.

If you still think you can challenge what I said, follow the links on the wikipedia page and research the listed cases. I'm not going to do your homework for you. :roll:

 

[Mxylplyx]

Firstly, how do you derive from the cases you listed that it favors the poor? It looks to me that he represents anybody with a malpractice case that Edwards thinks has merit, and merit means Edwards's ability to get paid. Should "poor" people be considered anybody with significantly less wealth than Edwards, which includes pretty much everyone? All you have demonstrated is that Edwards is a talented trial lawyer. Should I conclude that all malpractice attorneys are advocates for the poor merely because they often represent poor and middle class clients, who coincidentally make up about 90% of his potential client base? Malpractice attorneys obviously dont operate on the same pay structure as defense attorneys since they collect from winnings, and thus a client's wealth is inconsequential. The only proof you have that Edwards is an advocate for the poor is Edwards claiming he is an advocate for the poor, unless you do indeed believe that every malpractice attorney is such an advocate.

 

[Lemon law]

Argue however you want about what amounts to Edwards former life as a trial lawyer, one does not rise to the top of that profession without being very good at what he did. So any thesis of Edwards being a light weight falls of its own absurd weight. Unethical perhaps, not persuasive is absurd.

But wen we talk of John Edwards, that former life as a trial lawyer is something John Edwards is retired from that with a somewhat 15 year track record. Why do we judge him by only his former career as a trial lawyer when its not what he does now???????????????????