1. Filed a complaint, and successfully
defended a major legal action, leading to a requirement that radio
and television stations broadcasting cigarette commercials make
hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free broadcast time
available for antismoking messages, Banzhaf v. F.C.C., 405 F.2d
1082 (DC Cir. 1968). This caused the first sustained decline
in cigarette consumption in the U.S., something even the Surgeon
General's report was unable to achieve, and was estimated to have
saved hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of lives.2. With this success, he started the modern nonsmokers’ rights movement – one which has been more successful that virtually any other in the public health field – and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the first organization devoted solely to the problems of smoking. This later proved to be the first step of an even broader trend towards using legal action as a weapon against social problems, and helped lead the way towards the environmental protection movement, the disability rights movement, and many others.
3. This legal decision led directly to the ban on cigarette commercials on radio and television which he successfully defended from attacks based upon constitutional grounds, Capital Broadcasting Co. v. Mitchell, 333 F. Supp. 582 (3-judge, DC 1971), aff'd 405 U.S. 1000 (1972). See generally, INVOLVED AMERICANS: The Man Behind the Ban on Cigarette Commercials, Reader's Digest, March, 1971.
4. His subsequent complaints led to an amendment extending the ban on TV and radio commercials to include commercials for so-called "little cigars."
5. Obtained the first copyrights ever registered on computer programs, thereby establishing the first recognized form of legal protection for a new industry – one which now depends upon them. See Banzhaf, Copyright Protection for Computer Programs, 64 Colum. L. Rev. 1274 (1964).
6. Thereafter he successfully asked Congress to amend the copyright law to deal expressly with data processing, and published one of the first articles on the legal problems created by computers. Banzhaf, When a Computer Needs a Lawyer, 71 Dick. L. Rev. 240 (1967).
7. Developed a new mathematical method of analyzing voting power termed the "Banzhaf Index", and then persuaded New York State's highest court to adopt it as a legal requirement for approving so-called weighted voting reapportionment plans, Iannucci v. Board of Supervisors, 229 N.E. 2d 195 (1967). See, Banzhaf, Weighted Voting Doesn't Work: A Mathematical Analysis, 19 Rutgers L. Rev. 317 (1965).
8. The analysis was later extended to other legislative voting situations. See Banzhaf, Multi-Member Electoral Districts – Do They Violate the "One Man, One Vote" Principle?, 75 Yale L. J. 1309 (1966); Banzhaf, One Man, ? Votes: Mathematical Analysis of Voting Power and Effective Representation, 36 Geo. W. L. Rev. 808 (1968).
9. Subsequently the Banzhaf Index was extended, and applied to the Electoral College for electing the president. See Banzhaf, 3.312 Votes, A Mathematical Analysis of the Electoral College, 13 Villanova L. Rev. 303 (1968).
10. His analysis was accepted after two congressional hearings – See Hearings before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, U.S. Senate, p. 517-42, 904-33; Electoral College Reform, Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, p. 306-74. As the Boston Globe summarized it [10/17/04]: "The [House Judiciary] committee listened to the testimony of more than 100 witnesses . . . Among the witnesses was law professor John Banzhaf, the author of an influential mathematical analysis showing that, contrary to popular opinion, the Electoral College gave more 'voting power' to citizens of large states – an inequality that could be remedied only by popular elections. The committee endorsed that view in April [1969], approving a direct-election bill by a vote of 29 to 6."
11. His findings were also published in many of the major texts in the area: See, e.g., James Michener, Presidential Lottery, Part C entitled "The Banzhaf Studies" at 220 (1969); Pierce, The People's President, Section O entitled "Computer Analysis of Large versus Small State Power in the Electoral College" at 362 (1968); Robinson and Ullman, A Mathematical Look at Politics (2010); The Banzhaf Index for Multi-Candidate Presidential Elections, presented at the 1981 SIAM National Meeting.
12. The so-called “Banzhaf Index of Voting Power” is now widely known and accepted as the methodology for the distribution of voting power in complex situations, see, e.g, The Games Scholars Play, NEWSWEEK, [9/6/82]; See also book review of John Allen Paulos, A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, BOOK REVIEW: Bernstein, Finding the Social Aspects of Math [John Allen Paulos, A MATHEMATICIAN READS THE NEWSPAPER], New York Times, 4/12/95 ("Mr. Paulos's little essay explaining the Banzhaf power index and how it relates to Lani Guinier's ideas about empowering minorities is itself worth the price of the book."); BOOK REVIEW: Achenbach, Calculating Between the Lines [same book], Washington Post, 5/21/95 ("Something called the Banzhaf power index measures power not in terms of how many votes you have but by whether your votes can ever turn a losing coalition into a winning coalition.")
13. The Banzhaf Index of Voting Power Analysis of the Electoral College was also featured in several newspaper editorials: See, e.g., St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 24, 1968; Editorial, The New York Times, Dec. 18, 1968; Editorial, The Washington Post, Dec. 31, 1967, Election of the President.
14. Filed the petition for rule making which obtained separate no-smoking sections on U.S. airlines, and subsequently, through a series of complaints, petitions, law suits, and legislative activity, helped achieved a total smoking ban on virtually all domestic airline flights. See, e.g., Action on Smoking and Health v. Civil Aeronautics Board, 699 F.2d 1209 (DC Cir. 1983).
15. At about the same time, he helped obtain a ban on smoking on interstate buses. See National Ass’n of Motor Bus Owners v. U.S., 370 F.Supp 408 (D.D.C. 1974).
16. Subsequently assisted in obtaining the passage of the first statewide nonsmokers' rights laws in Arizona and South Dakota, thereby starting the nonsmokers’ rights movement which has now banned smoking in public places in most U.S. states and subsequently around the world.
17. He also first developed and produced the “Thank You For Not Smoking” sign which was subsequently translated into many languages and featured around the world and in many movies.
18. He assisted in the first case to establish the right of office workers to be protected from tobacco smoke, and helped obtain an injunction against smoking in her office, see Shimp v. New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, 145 N.J. Super. 516, 368 A.2d 408 (1976).
19. Helped to first develop the theory, and to bring the initial proceedings, establishing that persons especially sensitive to tobacco smoke can and should be entitled to protection from tobacco smoke pollution as “handicapped persons.” See, e.g., Pletten v. Dept. of the Army, # 03810087 E.E.O.C. (4/8/83).
20. Served as a catalyst and major promoter of the concept of bringing tort actions for damages as a means of putting additional pressure on tobacco companies. One result was the $246 billion Multi-State Tobacco Settlement which resulted in the death of Joe Camel, the end of cigarette billboards, and a very dramatic increase in the price of cigarettes which helped reduce consumption by children
21. Another dramatic result was the initial victory in a class action law suit by flight attendants made ill by exposure to tobacco smoke on airplanes. This victory created procedural advantages and set the stage for subsequently law suits for other flight attendants. See, e.g. Broin v. Philip Morris Cos., Inc., 641 So. 2d 888 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994), review denied, 654 So. 2d 919 (Fla. 1995).
22. It also resulted in a $300 million settlement which Prof. Banzhaf helped to defend, and was used to found the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute [FAMRI] in Miami, of which Prof. Banzhaf served as the Chairman of the Advisory Board. See, e.g., Ramos v. Philip Morris Cos., 743 So. 2d (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3d Dist. 1999).
23. Established legal "standing" for individuals and organizations to challenge harmful environmental actions which affect many or all individuals, and expanded the reach of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to reach governmental actions only indirectly affecting the environment. United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP), 412 U.S. 669 (1973).
24. Brought legal actions to persuade the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] to adopt the new remedy of "corrective advertising," under which a manufacturer found guilty of deceptive advertising may be required to confess his deception to the public in future ads, and to persuade the agency to provide funding for public interest participation. See Campbell Soup Co., 77 F.T.C. 664 (1970); Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 81 F.T.C. 398 (1971).
25. Helped bring a legal challenge to the license of a television broadcasting company in the District of Columbia because it was allegedly not serving the needs and interests of its African American viewers. The challenge led to the first African Americans appearing on a major television station anywhere in the U.S. in a significant role, to the increased hiring and promotion of Blacks on television, and to more programming directed towards their interests, initially in the District of Columbia, but ultimately also elsewhere. See, e.g. Stone v. FCC, 151 U.S. App. D.C. 145, 466 F.2d 316 (1972).
26. Helped obtain a Special Prosecutor (now called "Independent Counsel") to investigate former president Richard Nixon and Attorney General Edwin Meese, and almost obtained one to investigate "Debategate," see, e.g., Banzhaf v. Smith, 588 F. Supp. 1489 & 1498, rev'd on other grounds, 737 F.2d 1167 (DC Cir. 1984).
27. Subsequently filed the complaints which led to investigations of the affairs of vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and others
28. Initiated the unprecedented law suit in which citizens, over the objection of the state, successfully sued former governor and former vice president Spiro T. Agnew to recover the money he unlawfully received in bribes. See, e.g., Agnew v. State of Maryland, 446 A.2d 425 (1982).
29. With law students: brought legal actions which resulted in safety standards for school buses, clearer warnings on birth control pills, smoke detectors in airplane lavatories, auto bumper standards, the elimination of deceptive claims for certain contraceptives, new police procedures for dealing with wife beaters, the end of a scheme to defraud veterans, cleaner air in Washington DC, clearer labeling of foods, and many other victories.
30. Successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to require that emergency warning messages on television be broadcast in visual as well as oral form for the benefit of deaf viewers.
31. Subsequently established the National Center for Law and the Deaf to bring public interest legal actions on behalf of the deaf and hard of hearing.
32. Filed complaints of sex discrimination in the District of Columbia against the Cosmos Club and the Metropolitan Club which forced both clubs to begin admitting women as members, and making Washington D.C. the first major city to be free of large private male-only clubs.
33. A similar subsequent complaint forced the Women's National Democratic Club to permit its male members to vote, hold office, and to enjoy all of the privileges of membership accorded to female members.
34. Forced dry cleaners in the District of Columbia to cease sex discrimination against women, and to charge the same price to launder men's and women's shirts, even if the latter do not fit on automatic pressing equipment designed only for men's shirts. Similar results have also been achieved in the Washington D.C. area suburbs, and in other states.
35. Wrote an article outlining the legal defense of "subway shooter" Bernhardt Goetz which was published in New York City the day before – and may have helped cause – the initial grand jury to refuse to indict him. See, “It Is Not 'Vigilantism.' It's Self-Defense," Washington Post, January 12, 1985, reprinted in New York Daily News as "The Defense of Bernhardt Goetz."
36. Helped on several different occasions to prevent student organizations from prohibiting the showing of X-rated films on the George Washington University campus.
37. Filed a legal complaint which led to legal action by the Department of Justice to require The Citadel (university) in Charleston, W.V. to cease refusing to admit women to its undergraduate classes. This complaint served as the catalyst for the eventual admission of the first woman to a state previously- all-male-military college, shattering a 152-year tradition of sex discrimination, as well as to the eventual admission of more female cadets.
38. He helped develop the concept of differential health insurance premiums under which people who smoking, are obese, etc. pay more for their health insurance, in part to provide them with an additional strong incentive to live a healthier lifestyle, and in part to protect those who are not smokers and not obese from being forced to bear those costs. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners [NAIC] adopted his analysis, and urged insurance companies to being charging higher premiums.
39. Generated national publicity, through the filing of a criminal complaint against Congressman Barney Frank, which forced the Congressman to admit that his relationship with a male prostitute included criminal acts, and to seek an investigation by the House ethics committee; an investigation which led to the Congressman's reprimand.
40. Brought a legal action which forced the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to propose a rule to ban smoking in virtually all workplaces. Was also a major factor in obtaining a similar rule now in effect in Maryland. See generally, COMAR 09.12.23 (2005).
41. Used threats of legal action and the requirements of due process [fundamental fairness] to force the George Washington University to desist from a plan to seek the expulsion of editors of the school newspaper based upon their writings.
42. In another subsequent situation, he helped to force the university to agree not to prevent the distribution of the newspaper in areas under the control of the medical school.
43. Provided indirect legal assistance in defending "Jacuzzi shooter" Carl Rowan on charges of illegally possessing a gun and using it to defend his home from intruders.
44. Helped prevent any improper plea bargain in the criminal trial of D.C. Mayor Marion Barry by filing a motion (soon joined by the A.C.L.U.) before the court opposing any possible plea bargain under which the defendant would agree either to step down from office or to agree not to seek reelection, and by filing an equally-well publicized demand under the Freedom of Information Act for the key videotape showing the "sting" operation directed at the Mayor.
45. By filing a legal action, forced the National Park Service to agree not to again permit a tournament sponsored by a tobacco company to be held in Rock Creek National Park.
46. Wrote the first article on restroom equity, Banzhaf, Final Frontier for the Law, Natl. L. J. [4/18/88], a new movement which has now led to several "Potty Parity" laws and a federal complaint.
47. Forced hair cutters in the District of Columbia to cease sex discrimination against women, and to charge the same price to cut men's and women's hair.
48. Filed a complaint of discrimination based upon handicap when Gallaudet University (for the Deaf) in Washington DC initially announced that they would not consider a deaf person as a candidate for president of the university. That decision was subsequently reversed, and a deaf person was hired as president.
49. Used the threat of legal action — a complaint under the ADA — to force Dulles Airport to provide luggage carts for passengers arriving on domestic flights.
50. Brought a legal against which established a new legal principle under which the FDA asserted jurisdiction of nicotine in cigarettes, Action on Smoking and Health v. Harris, 655 F.2d 236 (D.C. Cir. 1980); moreover, the tobacco industry's complaint against the FDA charged that ASH's "threats," "pressure," and "a carefully orchestrated public relations campaign" were behind the agency's action.
51. Filed a legal complaint which forced Mrs. Simpson's dance class to adopt an affirmative action plan to admit more African-American and Jewish student.
52. In another subsequent proceeding, he forced The City Paper of Washington D.C. to agree not to run sexually-discriminatory ads, and to publish statements about the law and its new policy in its pages.
53. Helped to bring a law suit which held — after the court concluded that their evidence was "hogwash," "trash," and "worthless" — that Hertz illegally discriminated in refusing to rent cars to persons under 26 years of age.
54. Was instrumental in obtaining a federal ruling permitting health insurance companies to charge smokers more for their health insurance than nonsmokers,
55. As a member of the Advisory Committee on Tobacco Policy and Public Health chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, Prof. Banzhaf was a major force in strengthening the proposal for a universal tobacco settlement made by the tobacco industry; an accomplishment publicly acknowledged by chief negotiator Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore. Banzhaf remained one of most outspoken and most quoted critics of the weaknesses of the plan, and was ultimately instrumental in preventing it from being adopted by the White House and by the United States Congress.
56. Lead a successful campaign to prevent the George Washington University from instituting a new sexual harassment policy which would have applied to classroom discussions, and arguably did not provide the accused with sufficient procedural protections.
57. Helped start a movement which has now led to the overwhelming number of states to rule that exposing a child to secondhand tobacco smoke can be a factor in custody proceedings, and that parents who allow their children to be exposed to tobacco smoke may even lose custody of their children. See generally, NO SMOKING AROUND CHILDREN: Judge William F. Chinnock, The Family Courts’ Mandatory Duty to Restrain Parents and Other Persons From Smoking Around Children, 45 Ariz. L. Rev. 801 (1993).
58. Was a major factor in the ratification of the first world anti-smoking and nonsmokers’ rights treaty – the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC]. He subsequently helped oversee the worldwide organization most responsible for its successful implementation and enforcement [the Framework Convention Alliance, a consortium of more than 200 organizations in more than 100 countries], and will continue to play a major role regarding the FCTC in the future.
59. The Banzhaf Index of Voting Power was recently used to analyze the distribution of voting power in a proposed voting system for the new European Union, and to show that it provided hidden advantages of France, Britain, and Italy, and hidden disadvantages to other countries, especially Poland. See, e.g. Nature Magazine, European Voting Rules Flawed;
60. Began a movement to ban smoking around foster children to protect them from the documented health dangers. More than a dozen states now prohibit smoking around foster children in their homes or cars.
61. Building on an earlier ruling he had obtained from the federal government permitting smokers to be charged more than nonsmokers for their health insurance, he obtained an updated ruling reconfirming the original grants despite the subsequent passage of statutes like HIPPA. The new ruling, at Banzhaf’s request, also for the first time permitted surcharges on the obese.
62. With his law students at George Washington University, he helped initiate the first successful fat law suit against McDonald’s – one which resulted in a $12.5 million settlement, increased disclosure about the fat in french fries, and a public apology.
63. The McDonald’s law suit led to a new movement – of which Prof. Banzhaf is the prime spokesman, and which has already resulted in at least additional successful fat law suits, and one recently reinstated by the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals – which is pressuring food companies to make major changes to deal with the current obesity epidemic.
64. As a result, Banzhaf has been called "the Ralph Nader of Junk Food,""The Man Who Is Taking Fat to Court," "The Man Big Tobacco and Now Fast Food Love to Hate," the lawyer "Who's Leading the Battle Against Big Fat," and "a Major Crusader Against Big Tobacco and Now Among Those Targeting the Food Industry." Fortune magazine has predicted that “Fat [is] the Next Tobacco.”
65. Professor Banzhaf is probably the only GWU professor to inspire, provide technical assistance to, and actually appear in an the Academy-Award nominated documentary “Super Size Me.”
66. Banzhaf was also featured in another movie entitled “Waiting for my Real Life.”
67. Banzhaf helped to persuade the City of Calabasas, CA, to become the first jurisdiction to ban smoking on sidewalks, parking lots, and in most other public places.
68. Banzhaf’s complaint to XMRadio forced the company to stop featuring cigarette ads.
69. Prof. Banzhaf and his organization helped to organize more than a dozen international teaching symposiums/conferences on the treaty, including attended by the President of Uruguay. Four over this summer were held in Morocco, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Warsaw.
70. He helped obtain an agreement by credit card and delivery companies to crack down on the Internet sale of cigarettes, an agreement by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to appoint a tobacco control advocate to the influential Trade Advisory Committee. and a ruling that nonsmokers could sue for damages when tobacco smoke drifts into their apartments.
71. Prof. Banzhaf also helped persuade California’s governor to sign a bill requiring that cigarettes sold in California be fire safe [self extinguishing].
72. Helped the Attorney General of Colorado defend that state’s comprehensive smoking ban.
73. The bans on smoking in cars when a foster child is present has helped persuade a number of states to begin banning smoking when children are in the car.
74. By filing legal petitions asking states to charge smokers more for services under Medicaid, persuaded Tennessee to adopt such a program, which is now also being considered by other states.
75. Filed a legal complaint with the EU which resulted in several countries agreeing to prohibit virtually all tobacco advertising, several court prosecutions against countries which have refused to do so, and it also reportedly triggered a proposal in Germany to ban most public smoking.
76. Helped, by publicizing a potential law suit against DA Michael Nifong, to pressure him to step down for the “Duke rape case”; a move which ultimately led to the complete dismissal of all charges.
77. He was a major factor in the drafting and ultimate adoption of very tough and comprehensive guidelines for implementation of the nonsmokers’ rights section of the world antismoking and nonsmokers’ rights treaty which categorically reject the use of separate smoking and no-smoking sections, ventilation systems, etc. and require bans on smoking both indoors and in some outdoor areas.
78. Professor Banzhaf organized, hosted, and presenting the keynote speech at the Fifth World Conference on Nonsmokers Rights in April, 2007 at the George Washington University Law School.
79. He provided a major legal defense of the legal validity of a tactic proposed in a major medical journal to consider holding physicians liable when they deliberately fail to follow well-established medical guidelines requiring them to warn smoking patients about the dangers of smoking, and to provide some meaningful supportive treatment, if the patient then subsequently has a heart attack or other serious illness, and the failure to warn and treat was a substantial factor in causing that medical problem.
80. Professor Banzhaf was selected to deliver The Cooper Institute Preventive Medicine & Wellness Lecture in Dallas, Texas in 2008. He spoke on the progress he and others had made in the fight against the Nation’s two major public health problems: smoking and obesity.
81. Banzhaf and his organization was the first to alert the public that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke for as little as thirty minutes increases a nonsmoker’s chances of a heart attack to virtually those of a smoker and can trigger a fatal coronary event; a warning subsequently echoed by almost 100 other antismoking organizations.
82. Following his earlier success in persuading the City Council of Calabasas, California, to ban smoking in virtually all outdoor areas, his new letter to the City Council of El Cajon, California helped persuade it to adopt a ban which many are saying is even stricter – another step towards inspiring still more jurisdictions to further extend the protections for nonsmokers.
83. When Professor Banzhaf learned that R.J. Reynolds, in apparent violation of the Multi-State Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement, had an ad in Rolling Stone magazine which featured cartoon characters, he immediately wrote to all of the attorneys general to complain and to support legal action against the tobacco giant. As a result of the law suits, Reynolds agreed to suspend the ads.
84. Professor Banzhaf also worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics in developing a new resolution urging pediatric physicians to advise child protection authorities in appropriate situations when children suffer medical problems as a result of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.
85. In response to the development of e-cigarettes [e-cig], new cigarette-like devices which contain a mixture of propylene glycol (used in antifreeze, and a major respiratory tract irritant), and nicotine (a deadly and addictive drug) he filed a formal legal petition with the FDA asking it to assert jurisdiction over the product. The agency has asserted this jurisdiction.
86. He was successful – against powerful lobbying against him by the tobacco industry and the major national health organizations – in persuading Congress to incorporate into the omnibus health care reform legislation [The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] a principle embodying personal responsibility which he developed in the mid 1980s.
87. He also participated in an NPR interview that prompted the FDA to declare e-cigs “illegal”; filed four different briefs in a court proceeding challenging the FDA’s jurisdiction over e-cigs; and first warned about the dangers of e-cigs to nonsmokers. These concerns are now being echoed by the FDA.
88. He also discovered and warned the court that some e-cig makers were adding Cialis to the product, and used a planned appearance on NBC-TV’s Evening News to pressure the FDA to release a previously secret report showing that e-cigs also contained carcinogens and other toxic substances.
89. He helped a legislator pass precedent-setting legislation banning the use of e-cigs in places where conventional smoking is banned, and also prohibiting their sale to children. He wrote to all 50 attorneys general asking them to take legal action. (Oregon has now brought three legal actions, California has brought one, and Connecticut has said it would also file such law suits).
90. He pressured both PayPal and Amazon.com to drop sales of e-cigs, and publicly debated and was widely quoted regarding the issue.
91. On a completely different topic, and one which had its beginnings when he was still in law school, The Financial Times, New Scientist magazine, and the BBC are explaining the effects of the recent British elections, and the unusual coalition government which resulted, by using a mathematical tool termed the "Banzhaf Index of Voting Power."
92. He was a major factor in getting the use of e-cigarettes banned on airplanes where their use forces other passengers to inhale the vapors.