Federal Courts and Motor Carriers

               If you are an attorney representing a motor carrier being sued on a loss and damage claim, the conventional wisdom is to get the case in federal court if at all possible.  There are several factors in the mix to reach that conclusion.  One factor is the perception that your motor carrier client won't get homered in federal court, that federal courts will not favor the local business over your out of state client.   One would like to think that the scales of justice would not permit one party to be preferred over another party simply due to local residency, but the real world frequently doesn't work that way. 
 
            Another factor is that the federal courts usually have more resources, which translates to having staff to assist a judge with tasks such as research, drafting of opinions, that sort of thing.  Contrast that with state courts which are often times strapped for personnel and support systems.  Federal judges frequently have the assistance of law clerks and other personnel who can assist in ferreting out legal arguments, and therefore the federal court decisions are often based upon independent analysis.  State court judges are often times left to figure things out for themselves, so they have to rely upon lawyers to educate them.  And let's face it, sometimes the lawyer gets it wrong, or maybe tells the judge the wrong thing, which results in a bad decision. 

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