It was with much dismay that I read University of Chicago law professor Richard Epstein’s comments regarding the Rachel Barton verdict (Page 1, March 2). For professor Epstein to categorize the jury’s findings as “crazy,” and to opine that he did not feel that the evidence supported a finding of negligence on the part of the defendants was both uninformed and irresponsible.
As a lawyer professor Epstein should realize that the only people who are truly qualified to opine on the appropriateness of the verdict are those who attended the lengthy trial, saw the hundreds of exhibits and listened to the dozens of witnesses. To make such public, biased and opinionated comments based only on the (somewhat) daily updates given in the print and electronic media is nothing less than shameful considering the fact that professor Epstein is supposed to be a legal scholar of international significance.
If professor Epstein is so unhappy with the informed decision that was made by 12 impartial jurors, perhaps a better solution for future cases of this kind would be to submit all of the media tidbits about a trial to professor Epstein and let him decide the case from his ivory tower at the University of Chicago. Maybe then professor Epstein can show us all the true meaning of justice.
