Small claims courts: "The Great Leveler"

Reading the paper yesterday I came across an article about an unheralded consumer tool: small claims courts.  When most people hear those words, they probably think of TV shows like Judge Judy, but small claims courts are an essential part of our judicial system and can be an important tool for anyone who has been wronged.  The writer called them the "Great Equalizer" (that's what I might call the civil justice system as a whole, but it's not far off).

Unfortunately, the article only briefly mentions Big Business’ attacks on this institution--not to mention the entire civil justice system.  Credit card companies and others use mandatory arbitration agreements to take away our right to seek a trial by jury when we are scammed.  Learn more about the pitfalls of binding arbitration agreements from Public Citizen’s report, “The Arbitration Trap: How Credit Cards Companies Ensnare Consumers”