Recorded presentation

Lissy C. Friedman, JD, Northeastern University School of Law, Tobacco Control Resource Center, 102 The Fenway, Room 117, Boston, MA 02115, 617-373-2026, lfriedma@lynx.dac.neu.edu

Examines judicial seminars sponsored by conservative organizations such as think tanks and corporate front groups with agendas contrary to the public's health. Such groups sponsor seminars for state and federal judges in order to "educate them" on the "correct" way of adjudicating cases before them on topics in which the sponsors have a stake, such as products liability and the environmental issues that threaten public health through injurious industrial practices. The presentation will demonstrate direct financial and other tangible methods of support for these seminars by examining tobacco industry internal documents, and the financial disclosure records of the organizations offering the seminars. The ethical implications for both the judges attending such seminars and the sponsorship of such seminars also will be discussed, and the consequences on the future integrity of the judicial system will be analyzed.

Learning Objectives:

• To inform and mobilize the public health community to challenge the practice of conservative organizations using their financial clout to gain access to the judiciary in an extra-judicial manner without full disclosure to all participants.

Keywords: Tobacco Industry, Ethics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation