MIDLAND — Best-selling writer and lawyer Philip K. Howard will present "The Case for Special Health Courts" in Lansing Tuesday at a luncheon sponsored by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Midland-based free-market think tank. Howard, author of the widely discussed book "The Death of Common Sense," has proposed that medical lawsuits be tried in an alternative health care court system that would limit legal fees to 20 percent in most cases, and that would be supervised by full-time health care judges appointed by nonpartisan screening commissions.

Howard, who is founder and chair of Common Good, a New York­­­-based nonprofit organization, is a leader in the movement for special health courts in the United States. He has argued that "random" medical justice in America is hurting innocent patients and doctors, producing "skyrocketing" costs and promoting a "bunker mentality" that discourages medical staff from admitting errors.

Attendance at the event is free for reporters and media personnel. The luncheon will be held from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the House Office Building at 124 N. Capitol Ave. (Mackinac Room, fifth floor). Howard will also debate this issue with prominent trial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger on Tuesday evening at an event sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of the Federalist Society.

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