When civil litigants agree to settle their disputes, they expect judicial approval, if not praise. The rubric of our judicial system is that litigation should be discouraged, and settlements of filed lawsuits should be encouraged.
This expectation is even more pronounced if the government is one of the parties. Courts understandably show great deference to the government and rarely reject its proposed settlements; government agencies lack the resources to litigate large numbers of cases and use settlements to educate others on the proper reach of the law. Indeed, the Securities and Exchange Commission depends upon settling a high percentage of ...