The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a case that, even by law standards, seems technical and arcane. But the case is notable because it embodies much of what’s wrong with how we as a society talk about, and our elected leaders debate, the role of lawyers and litigation in our system of government. It also points to some possible fixes.
First, the case itself. You may not know it, but the False Claims Act empowers you and me to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States against persons or companies who defraud the government in connection with federal spending, such as Medicare or defense contracts. If we prove that the hospital or military contractor ripped off the government, we earn a cut of the money returned to the federal fisc. We get to be, in the lingo, “private attorneys general” for the United States.
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