For many years, Mississippi was the pit, a dark and hopeless hellhole for physicians and defendants at the mercy of the trial bar.

Then Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove called a special session to bring down medical-malpractice premiums. In 2004, the next governor—Republican Haley Barbour—convened another special session to limit pain-and-suffering awards in medical cases, and to set limits on damages.

The result was a healthy, growing business sector in Mississippi that not even Katrina could knock down. Now, after years of supporting lawsuit reform, the venerable Clarion-Ledger of Jackson is asking if the “tort reform pendulum has swung too far.” They also call into question the state’s “broken judicial election system.”

The editorial was a response to an adjacent piece by a local attorney, Alex Alston, Jr., who claims that 88 percent of all jury verdicts in favor of plaintiffs have been reversed by the state Supreme Court. Frankly, I’m skeptical of Mr. Alston’s factoid - can our readers in Mississippi scrub this factoid for accuracy and context?

In the meantime, let me note that not even Alston supports scrapping judicial elections in Mississippi. Instead, he asks voters to be aware of the issues, to check contributions to judicial candidates on their web sites, and to get involved in the election.

As far as tort reform is concerned, I would respectfully ask that The Clarion-Ledger take a fresh look at their front page. Zach Scruggs was just sentenced to prison in the footsteps of his father, Dickie. The Scruggs’ convictions, however, by no means signal the end of trial lawyer power. Trial Lawyers, Inc. continues circling Mississippi, looking for ways to invalidate these reforms and take us back to the palmy, balmy days of jackpot justice.

Perhaps the pendulum has a ways to go in the direction of reform.