O'Connor On The Economy And Rule of Law

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke today of the importance of the rule of law during the current credit crunch crisis.
At a conference she organized on the courts and corporate citizenship, O'Connor said that "corporations stand to lose large amounts and judicial independence wavers if we have methods of resolving disputes that are not fair and effective.”
She said it's vital now "to know what will help make our system recover quickly" and noted that businesses are "in a special position by virtue of their economic importance to our country -- and we're surely focused on that these days."
O'Connor conceded that more needs to be done to improve the perception among some industries that courts are not fair.
"Some see runaway juries creating unpredictability, some see litigation delay and expensive discovery processes that greatly increases the cost and time of litigation," she said.
The number of judges who "lack experience with complex business issues" is also a problem, she said.
O'Connor was joined at the conference by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who echoed her sentiments.
"Critical to economic growth is a rule of law, particularly protection of the rights of individuals and property," he said.