The museum is intended to broaden public understanding of civil law and issues such as health and consumer protections.
Ralph Nader has appointed a trial lawyer as director of the planned American Museum of Tort Law set to open in the activist and consumer advocate's home town of Winsted, Connecticut.
Nader said Tuesday that Richard L. Newman will oversee the museum, which is intended to broaden public understanding of civil law and issues such as health and consumer protections.
Newman is based in Connecticut and was president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association from 2004 to 2005. He graduated from the Wisconsin School of Law in 1979.
"Mr. Newman has combined a sterling career as a practicing consumer attorney, a scholar, and an author that spells a combination of experience, compassion, and enthusiasm to advance the first law museum in the United States," said Nader.
Newman said the museum is set to open in September and will teach the public about tort law -- the law of wrongful injury. A press release from the museum says it will, "tell stories that illuminate the underlying principles of the law in accurate language readily understood."
Charlie Smart is an intern at WNPR.