Did You Know Your Politician Can Be Sued!

What is Political Malpractice?

Political malpractice is an instance of negligent or unethical conduct
on the part of an elected official. Like medical malpractice and legal
malpractice, political malpractice involves a breach of duty, and a
failure to offer professional services as expected. Political mal-
practice usually hurts the taxpayers and citizens whom the politician
is accountable to. This term is often thrown around pejoratively in
political rhetoric, with politicians accusing opponents of “malpractice”
when they really just mean that their opponents have made
controversial decisions.

There are a number of different kinds of political malpractice. The most
innocent, though not necessarily the least harmful, is negligence. If a
politician fails to fully review a bill, for example, and it later
turns out to be a disaster, this could be viewed as negligence by the
voters. Negligence is sometimes paired with incompetence, an inability
to perform the job. When a politician fails to adhere to an expected
standard of behavior, this can also be viewed as political malpractice.

On the more sinister end of things, political malpractice can involve
improper or unethical conduct undertaken deliberately. Accepting bribes
is a form of political malpractice, as are other activities which
demonstrate favoritism to particular constituents or organizations. In
some cases, this type of political malpractice can result in criminal
charges for corruption.Citizens rely on their elected officials to
advocate for them in legislative bodies, and to make good choices which
will benefit their communities. When politicians fail to hold up their
end of the bargain, this can have unfortunate consequences for the
citizens. An accusation of political malpractice indicates that citizens
are deeply unhappy with the way in which a politician has handled a
situation, and it can threaten a political career.

In some cases, political malpractice can be the grounds for a tort suit.
In the law, a tort is a civil wrong, and if proved, such a suit can
result in fines and other consequences for the convicted party. When the
citizens feel that they have experienced direct harm as a result of
political malpractice, many nations allow them to bring suit against
their elected officials to recover damages or remove those officials from
office. Citizens can also petition their elected officials to lobby for
the removal of a superior, such as a President or Prime Minister.

Discuss this Article
How about suing for violation of their oath which they swear to "defend
and protect" the constitution.--John Flinn

In other words they could be taken to court and sued for not reading the
billsthat they are given to read. If this Healthcare Reform is put in
place and fails-we have a right to sue and get a petition going to take
them out of office. Wow that is some interesting piece of News isn't it...

What is a Petition?

A petition is a formal written document which is submitted to an
authority in an attempt to get that authority to accede to a request.
Typically, a written petition is signed by multiple people, indicating
that a large group of people supports the request detailed in the
petition. In some countries, the right to petition members of government
is protected by law; many of these countries have legal systems based
on the English legal system, which has a right to petition dating back
to the Magna Carta.

Politically, a petition can be used to get an initiative on the ballot
in some countries, assuming that enough people sign the ballot. In the
United States, voter originated initiatives are common on many ballots,
and they cover a diverse array of issues which the authors of the
petition feel are not being addressed by figures in government. Petitions
can also be used in an attempt to repeal laws or to recall elected
officials. In other cases, petitions may be used for community appeals;
a group of people who wants an off-leash dog park, for example, might
create a petition to bring to a city council meeting for the members
to consider.

Here is the site if you want more info on Political malpractice.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-political-malpractice.htm