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When an appeals court barred the government from seeking $280 billion in a civil racketeering trial against cigarette makers earlier this year, many legal scholars said the heart of the case had been ripped out. But on Monday, the government presses ahead as it begins to lay out potential remedies - ranging from smoking-cessation programs to court-imposed corporate monitors - that could cost Big Tobacco billions of dollars. Cigarette makers say many of the suggestions won't meet strict standards the appeals court established, and others simply mirror restrictions in settlements the companies reached with states in the late 1990s. … With no jury, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler will decide which penalties to impose if she agrees with the government's charge that cigarette makers conspired to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking. When the appeals court took money off the table, it said the civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, allows only for "forward-looking" remedies. Kessler called the Feb. 4 ruling a "body blow" to the government's case, and allowed the Justice Department to split off its presentation of potential penalties, creating a two-phase trial. … Richard A. Daynard, president of the Tobacco Resource Control Center at Northeastern University in Boston, said if the companies' public statements led to the addiction of millions of Americans, the door should be open to a range of options. "There's no particular reason to limit the DOJ's remedies, assuming Judge Kessler accepts the liability part of the government's case," he said.
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