DURHAM - Corruption occurred during the war for independence. Benjamin Franklin observed that "(t)here is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government." The first Congress therefore enacted a law based on ancient English practice identified by the Latin phrase qui tam. It authorized private citizens to represent the United States in claims against those who defraud it and gave them an incentive to do so by assuring them a share of any recovery resulting from their efforts.

North Carolina needs to enact this sort of law; 11 other states have done so in recent years.

The Civil War brought another epidemic of public scandals rising to the Cabinet level. The law was amended in 1862 to require the offender guilty of defrauding the government to pay double damages, half of which would be paid to the relator, i.e., the citizen who maintained the case on behalf of the United States. Numerous relators then came forward to pursue claims against contractors who were proven to have sold the Army rifles without triggers, gunpowder diluted with sand or uniforms that could not endure a single rainfall.

Similar frauds were common during both World Wars but generally received scant attention; the Department of Justice pursued other concerns. The larcenous practices of government suppliers continued through wars in Korea and Vietnam. They sold aircraft with wings they knew to be too short to be safe, radar systems that were nearsighted and other worthless weapons. It is said that many American soldiers in Vietnam were killed with munitions made by the Vietnamese from bombs that had failed to explode when dropped on them by American planes.

The Department of Defense, of course, has officers to resist plunder by those with whom it contracts, but they are often outmanned by private experts who sell them disappointing products at the highest possible price. The problem abides; in 2006, the Coast Guard reported that it had spent billions on a worthless fleet of new ships.

DURING THE COLD WAR, ever more elaborate weaponry was sold to the United States at ever-rising prices. By the 1980s, most of the largest defense contractors were under investigation for defrauding the Department of Defense. (Not to mention scores of other federal programs buying goods or services.) Four major corporations were convicted. The Department of Justice had more cases than it could handle. A new False Claims Act drafted by public interest lawyers and the Department of Justice was signed by President Reagan.

The 1986 act provides for the recovery of treble damages for defrauding the United States, with 15 percent to 25 percent of the recovery to be paid to the private plaintiff-relator or "whistle-blower." These are not criminal proceedings and so proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" is not required, and a "preponderance of proof" will if credited suffice to support a judgment against the defendant. Plaintiffs have the right to compel disclosures of possible evidence and to compel non-party witnesses to supply their evidence as well.

The Department of Justice is afforded an opportunity to take control of the proceeding, but the case still continues as a civil action and the relator remains a party entitled to compensation. If Justice does not intervene, the relator may continue the action in the name of the United States and is then entitled to receive as much as 25 percent of the treble damages recovered, plus reimbursement for costs including attorneys' fees.

THIS SCHEME SERVES TO ASSURE THE AVAILABILITY of private legal counsel for plaintiffs with credible claims. The relator is also protected by law from retaliation by his employer.

By 2005, almost 9,000 false claim cases had been filed pursuant to the 1986 statute. A majority were initiated by whistle-blowers; 33 came forward in 1987 and by 2002 the number had risen to 326. About $15 billion was recovered by the government in these cases.

While historically most false claims actions were directed at those who sold military equipment, other industries have become targets for qui tam claims. In December 2006, rewarding whistle-blowers was extended to reward private enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code. No longer will the government rely solely on the beleaguered and understaffed IRS to enforce the law.

Claims for the benefit of state governments arising from the same transactions as those defrauding the federal government may be joined with a qui tam action brought in the name of the United States. There are now 12 state enactments similar to the federal law. Of these, Delaware's appears to be the most comprehensive. Newly elected Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York favors qui tam legislation in his state. Surely it is time for North Carolina to enact a False Claims Act. Indeed, why not?

(Paul D. Carrington is a professor of law at Duke University.)

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