Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Lungren, Daniel E. (1946-) To Carlos J Moorhead

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09613.01.20 Author/Creator: Lungren, Daniel E. (1946-) Place Written: Sacramento, California Type: Typed letter signed Date: 26 May 1995 Pagination: 2 p. ; 28 x 21.5 cm. Order a Copy

A thank you letter from Daniel Lungren, the Attorney General of California, to Moorhead for his legislation the Officer's Civil Liability Act of 1995(H.R.1446). This act strives to limit the award of punitive damages "to the kinds of egregious conduct that warrant a recovery" it also limits the attorney's fees to under one-third of the recovery. Lungren also mentions a particular case Chuman V. Wright in which this bill would have been a benefit. The case was such that an officer got a warrant to search a suspected cocaine storage house. When no drugs were recovered, a lawsuit was filed resulting in a payment of $23,000 in compensation and $150,000 in punitive damages. The attorney's fee was $200,000, more than the damages for the case. This letter is on Lungren's Office of the Attorney General stationary.

Moorhead, Carlos J., 1922-2011
Lungren, Daniel E. (1946-)

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources