492
O'Connor, J., dissenting
Economics school either. As a historical matter, the wealth of the perpetrator long has been thought relevant. See Browning-Ferris, 492 U. S., at 300 (O'Connor, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (citing the Magna Carta and Blackstone's Commentaries). Moreover, Haslip itself suggests that the defendant's wealth is a permissible consideration, ante, at 462, n. 28, 464 (plurality opinion), although it does so only in the context of appellate review. See 499 U. S., at 22.
Nonetheless, courts must have authority to recognize the
special danger of bias that such considerations create. The plurality does just that today, ante, at 464, as this Court, other tribunals, and numerous commentators have before. See, e. g., Morris, Punitive Damages in Tort Cases, 44 Harv. L. Rev. 1173, 1191 (1931) ("It is a good guess that rich men do not fare well before juries, and the more emphasis placed on their riches, the less well they fare. Such evidence may do more harm than good; jurymen may be more interested in divesting vested interests than in attempting to fix penalties which will make for effective working of the admonitory function"); Abraham & Jeffries, supra, at 424; Illinois Central R. Co., supra, at 188 (bias against railroads); McConnell v. Hampton, 12 Johns. 234, 236 (N. Y. 1815) (Thompson, C. J.) ( jury unduly influenced by defendant's great wealth); cf. Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 453 U. S. 247, 270-271 (1981) ("[E]vidence of a [municipality's wealth, inasmuch as it has unlimited taxing power], may have a prejudicial impact on the jury, in effect encouraging it to impose a sizable award. The impact of such a windfall recovery is likely to be both unpredictable and, at times, substantial"); see also Haslip, 499 U. S., at 43 (O'Connor, J., dissenting) ( jurors, if not properly guided, may "target unpopular defendants . . . and redistribute wealth").
The risk of prejudice was especially grave here. The jury repeatedly was told of TXO's extraordinary resources, which respondents estimated at $2 billion. To make matters
Page: Index Previous 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007