[Inside Litigation, October 1988, Volume 12, Number 105, page 1. Reproduced with permission granted by Aspen Law & Business/Panel Publishers (www.aspenpub.com).]
It's a point of law of obviously crucial strategic importance: To what extent does federal jurisdiction override decisions in state courts in product liability cases? For defense counsel, preemption is a potent weapon. Not just conflicting laws, but the very absence of a federal statute can, in specific instances, support a contention that a defendant is in full compliance with existing regulation.
The debate takes on a rather ironic twist when considered in the larger context of what is and what is not the proper balance, legally and politically, between branches of the government. 'Liberals' with an abiding faith in federal activism suddenly find themselves zealously guarding the prerogatives of decentralized decision-making. 'Conservatives' with their dread of Big Brother suddenly look Beltway-ward the moment states'
