Override of malpractice "reform" veto fails

In Oklahoma, State Rep. Colby Schwartz (a Republican, naturally) introduced a right-wing bill that would have needlessly gutted legitimate malpractice suits. The bill would have required victims of any type of professional malpractice to obtain clearance from "experts" to file the suit. Not just to win the suit, but even to file it.

You know, I'm really wondering what serious ill this bill was supposed to solve. Malpractice suits had already been needlessly limited - again and again. These days, it practically takes an act of Congress to sue an HMO. At the same time, however, frivolous corporate SLAPP suits and Jack Thompson-style moral panic actions proliferate wildly, and nobody does shit to halt them.

Schwartz's enigmatic bill passed the legislature - but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Brad Henry. Now the legislature has failed to override Henry's veto.

The governor correctly pointed out that the bill defies an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that declared a similar bill unconstitutional only 2 years ago. In other words, the geniuses in the legislature couldn't take no for an answer, so they just decided to pass a bill just like one that had already been ruled unconstitutional. Lawmakers must not have anything more important to worry about, if they waste time on futile nonsense like this.

In response to the veto, Schwartz connipted mightily. He said the governor has no business determining whether a bill is constitutional. Um, the governor's not the one who made that determination. The governor was just following what the state's high court interpreted the law to mean. If he had ignored the ruling, he wouldn't be doing his job.

For years, the court system has become more labyrinthine and inaccessible to the average person. At least this veto kept it from getting worse for the time being.

(Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080512_12_OKL05111)