Reflections of an Unapologetic Safety Regulator

I have been a proud, unapologetic regulator. I say this after completing a career that spanned almost 50 years in the world of regulation, spent variously as a regulatory agency commissioner, a congressional staff attorney overseeing several regulatory agencies, and a professor researching and teaching the subject. Much of my experience comes from years of […]

The Misuse of Product Misuse: Victim Blaming at Its Worst

Download  Journal Article Abstract This Paper addresses the legal consequences that surface when a consumer uses a product in a manner not specifically intended by that product’s designer or manufacturer. If a product is used in a reasonably foreseeable manner, the fact that the use is at odds with a manufacturer’s intention should not be […]

Cajolery or Command: Are Educational Campaigns and Adequate Substitute for Regulation

View Full Journal Article Abstract Between the mid-sixties and the mid-seventies, the so-called “consumer decade,”‘ Congress enacted a large number of consumer protection laws, many in the area of health and safety.’ In recent years, some of these laws and the regulations promulgated under them have inspired harsh criticism. Some critics, including many Reagan Administration […]