California Supreme Court sends right message to sleazy lawyers

Kudos to the California Supreme Court for forcing lawyers to evaluate whether they’re involved in silly or frivolous cases. The question the court faced was ic lawyers can be sued for malicious prosecution if, after they file a case, they learn their lawsuit is not “supported by probable cause.”

What this means is that if lawyers later figure out that they filed a frivolous lawsuit, do they have to stop? Might they have to pay? The court’s answer was 'yes.'

I support anything that forces lawyers to take some responsibility and  avoids allowing them to just say, "Well, I’m just representing my client...."  Of course, on the other side, some lawyers fought hard to avoid liability saying that this will lead lawyers to “second-guess their cases.”

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What’s wrong with that?

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

This means California is now in the majority on this issue. Now it’s just time to start filing some cases and holding more lawyers responsible for wasting taxpayer dollars on time-consuming and harassing cases that only serve to embarrass the legal profession and clog our legal system.

Dan Abrams is the host of 'The Abrams Report.' on MSNBC.