Shira Goodman has a revealing post over at the JudgesonMerit.org blog about the fight to abolish democratic election of judges in Pennsylvania and let a lawyer-dominated committee pick judges behind closed doors.
Goodman leads off by praising the skill, experience and fairness of many Pennsylvania appellate judges. But, Goodman proclaims, “they reached the bench despite […]

Trial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger took the witness stand yesterday in his criminal trial, pleading with the jury to let him off the hook because of his work to help the powerless take on big corporations. Fieger is famous, of course, for comparing American business to Nazis and other outrages in pursuit of lottery-sized verdicts.
Fieger […]

Despite a full-court press from the powerful trial lawyers’ lobby, the Tennessee legislature last night decided not to reauthorize the state’s judicial selection commission – where lawyers meet in secret to choose judges.  Blogger Ned Williams of Wisdom is Vindicated has the story.
This is a huge defeat for the trial bar, which fought ferociously […]

Another law professor has called on the Tennessee legislature to dump the state’s “unconstitutional” judicial selection commission. In today’s Nashville City Paper, David Danner – an adjunct professor of business law at Tennessee State University – writes that Tennessee’s judicial selection commission has turned the state constitution “upside down.”
Judges in Tennessee are chosen
… by […]

Blogger Bill Hobbs has an important post today that helps expose the ethical conflicts behind the lobbying by Tennessee’s trial lawyers to save the state’s judicial selection star chamber.
Betty Anderson, wife of House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, has been trolling the state’s Capitol on behalf of the Tennessee Bar Association, but never registered as a lobbyist.

Ned Williams over at Wisdom is Vindicated has a post today on the latest fallout from Tennessee’s judicial selection debate.

Fair and Biased, the blog run by Steve Fair, reports today on the trial bar’s success at not only blocking tort reform in Oklahoma, but worker’s comp reform, as well.

Two major issues that were not resolved this legislature session were tort reform and workers comp reform. Interrelated, they are two issues opposed by the powerful […]

Legal reporter L.L. Brasier of The Detroit Free Press had a hand-wringer yesterday about campaign spending among candidates for Michigan’s 6th Circuit Court judicial race. The article frets that this year’s race could be one of the “most contested … in Oakland County history.” Funny, but I thought competition among candidates was […]

Does tort reform work? Look at Texas.
Joseph Nixon of the Texas Public Policy Foundation has an important piece in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal reviewing the stunning turnaround in the Lone Star State after the legislature passed medical liability reform in 2003 and 2005. The highlights:

Greater Access to Care… While doctors are fleeing […]

Despite campaigning on promises to fix Oklahoma’s tort system, Gov. Brad Henry has again broken his vow to curb frivolous lawsuits. Last week, the Oklahoma House voted 55-42 to override Henry’s veto – but fell 13 votes short of the necessary 2/3rds.
William Pitts of the Journal Record reviews the history of Gov. […]