Originally Posted by cowanpp

Wrong.

P.S. A huge flaw in this argument (at least for most people who criticize the justice system, myself included) is that it supposes that the people who make up the jury are always correct and are never influenced by the skill of either side's attorney, etc. but always dig through the evidence and select the correct winning party. The problem is that we know that many times that is not the case. People bitch about out of control juries and huge verdicts all the time - so is it crazy to think that occasionally a jury picks the wrong side in a lawsuit? If the loser had to pay the winner's costs then in addition to getting screwed by the jury in winning or losing, you'd also be screwed with some costs.

Also, the risk of paying costs if you lose would place a further restriction on access to the courts for those who could not afford to pay costs if they lose the case.

My .02.