Fast and Furious

Clore Law · November 13 2011

Attorney General Eric Holder's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week did nothing reduce disbelief of an ill-advised "Operation Fast and Furious" let Mexican drug criminals acquire thousands of lethal weapons from the United States. The guns federal agents allowed to "walk" from Arizona into Mexico in 2009 and 2010 have been linked to the deaths of two U.S. government agents and hundreds of crimes in Mexico. The Mexican government says it was not informed of the apparent attempt by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives to trace Mexican gun-running networks. read more

Liability from Fast and Furious

We have become too accustomed to the government dodging responsibility. Operation fast and Furious will bring likely be one of those instances in American history when responsibility will be forced upon someone; The question is who? The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) ran the blundered operation, but there may be other departments who knew or should have known of this plan. When US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry became the first confirmed casualty resulting form Fast and Furious, this debacle became front page news.

Law Suit from Fast and Furious

Wrongful death lawsuits can be filed by the family of a person killed by another party's actions, if it can be proven the outcome was reasonably foreseeable. When the ATF lost over 1,400 guns attempting to track criminal the had previously been able to track, it was easy for many to think "what did you think would happen." It is unlikely many people think the ATF expected to lose those weapon, but it is also reasonable to expect they should have recognized the strong possibility. That is a key difference between an accidental death and a successful wrongful death lawsuit. An attorney will need to convince defense counsel the jury will, should they have to go to court, believe they were responsible and they should be expected the outcome. They also need to be able to try the case if it comes down to it. Defense attorney know the law firm who litigate and those who do not.