ATRA Releases Annual “Judicial Hellholes” Report
December 15, 2009
It’s that time of year again — today the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) released its yearly Judicial Hellholes report. Topping the list this year:
- South Florida
- West Virginia
- Cook County, IL
- Atlantic County, NJ
- New Mexico Appellate Courts
- New York City
On ATRA’s “Watch List”
- California
- Alabama
- Gulf Coast and Rio Grande Valley, TX
- Jefferson County, MS
- And our perennial favorite: Madison County, IL
ATRA’s president, Tiger Joyce, had a good reminder for policymakers looking for ways to boost the economy and create jobs:
Every dollar spent defending against a groundless lawsuit is a dollar that won’t be spent on research and development, capital investment, worker training or job creation.
The report isn’t all bad news - included are “Points of Light” highlighting parts of the country where good reforms have been enacted and where attempts to roll-back improvements to the legal system have been beaten back, including Arizona, California, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.
Congratulations to Tiger Joyce and his team for putting out yet another well-researched, hard-hitting report — and for reminding us of the need to keep fighting for legal reform.