The Supreme Court undermined the rule of law for cigarette companies in Altria v. Good yesterday and set a bad precedent for the pending Wyeth v. Levine case and drug companies.
Ilya Shapiro argues that Altria is a case where federal preemption of state laws is needed (one gorilla vs. fifty monkeys). While I agree that it is easier to comply with one set of rules than fifty sets, particularly when it is truly in the realm of interstate commerce, it can also easier be easier to manipulate one set of rules.
What troubles me about both Altria and Wyeth is that companies can be held liable for actions that are compliant with laws and regulations. The real implication of the Altria decision is not to replace one gorilla with fifty monkeys, but to put every federal and state regulation at the mercy of thousands of judges and five justices, completely destroying the value of compliance.
