Lawson v. Hoke

*256GILLETTE, J.

This personal injury action arising out of an automobile collision raises a fundamental issue concerning the legislature’s ability to choose a particular legal device as a way to advance a particular public policy. Here, the legislature chose the device of precluding an award of certain forms of civil damages to those who violate the policy in question— compulsory automobile insurance — as a kind of “stick” to encourage persons to abide by that public policy. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the legislative choice in this particular case is a constitutionally…