May 16, 2008

Pretty good coverage all the way around, which is to say, both sides are included and the plaintiffs -- the three lead-paint manufacturers -- had their arguments represented fairly. From what little we were able to watch, a good exploration of the legal issues by the justices.

• From the AP, "Lead paint companies appeal Rhode Island verdict."
• From the Providence Journal, "Justices focus on scope of lead paint case."
• From Legal Newsline, "Motley Rice paycheck up for debate."

I thought I was hearing wrong when one the of Justices cut Motley Rice attorney Fidelma Fitzpatrick short when she was starting her usual rant about lead paint is bad. I looked over to the man sitting next to me. He was bug-eyed. So, we both hadn't heard wrong. it was going to get a lot more intense.

The smart four men they are - one justice recused - they were going to find a narrow passageway through the public nuisance and contingency messes through questions of law. That's what they wanted. The attorneys representing the defendants Sherwin-Williams, Millennium Holdings and NL Industries and acquitted Atlantic Richfield stuck to the points of law. The plaintiff representatives did not. They came prepared with stylized rhetoric and kept to the script.