The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is pleased to host monthly Issues & Ideas Luncheons in Lansing. These luncheons, which feature experts on a diverse array of subjects, offer a forum that enhances and broadens the policy debate to include theoretical and philosophical ideals—and suggestions for achieving them.

News media, legislators, policy staff and interested citizens are cordially invited to the

SEPTEMBER ISSUES & IDEAS LUNCHEON

“The Case for Special Health Courts”

DATE:	Tuesday, September 20, 2005
TIME:	12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION:	The Mackinac Room, 5th Floor, House Office Building 124 N. Capitol Lansing, MI 48933
COST:	Lunch is provided at no charge, with reservation.

One area of American life that has been severely affected by unreliable justice is health care. In an effort to improve the delivery of health care and reduce costs, Philip Howard is spearheading a drive to create special health courts. The hallmark of the health courts would be full-time judges, dedicated to addressing health care issues. The judges would be appointed through a nonpartisan screening commission. Most cases would be resolved within months. Legal fees, except in exceptional cases, would be held to 20 percent, reducing current costs by almost half.

Philip Howard is a well-known leader of legal reform in America. He is the author of the best-seller “The Death of Common Sense” (Random House, 1995) and “The Collapse of the Common Good” (Ballantine, 2002), and he is a periodic contributor to the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. In the Oxford Companion to American Law, Howard contributed the section on American law since 1968. He is the Vice-Chairman of the law firm Covington & Burling and a prominent civic leader in New York, having served as chair of the committee that installed the Tribute in Light Memorial for those who died on Sept. 11. Howard received a J.D. in 1974 from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and a member of the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. He received a B.A. from Yale College in 1970.

The luncheon begins promptly at noon. Please make reservations for yourself or your guests by 5 p.m. on Sept. 16 by calling the Mackinac Center at (989) 631‑0900.

The Purpose of the Issues & Ideas Luncheon

The nature of the legislative process is such that public policy debates are often framed by specific constituencies and political pragmatism rather than by sound principles. By offering a forum for wide-ranging discussion, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy hopes to broaden the debate to include theoretical and philosophical ideals — and how to achieve them. The best interests of Michigan citizens can be served only when legislation incorporates our best understanding of legal, economic, psychological, moral and scientific principles.