Estate of Michelle Evette McCall, Petitioners v. United States of America, Respondent — Polston, J., Dissenting

Summary

Justice Polston dissented from the plurality's conclusion that Florida's aggregate cap on noneconomic wrongful-death damages violated equal protection. He would apply deferential rational-basis review, uphold the Legislature's findings that the cap rationally advanced lower malpractice-insurance costs and greater health-care availability, and reject the access-to-courts, jury-trial, and separation-of-powers challenges. Justice Pariente, concurring in result, agreed that the cap was unconstitutional as applied to wrongful-death actions but disagreed with the plurality's independent reweighing of legislative evidence.