Friday, December 19, 2008

Judicial Hellholes

The American Tort Reform Foundation has released its Judicial Hellholes 2008/2009 report, naming some of the nation's "most unfair civil court jurisdictions."

Included in the report are perennial "Hellholes" West Virginia, South Florida and Cook County, Illinois; relative newcomers Clark County, Nevada, and Atlantic County, New Jersey; as well as Los Angeles County, California, and Alabama's Macon and Montgomery counties, both of which are returning to the unwanted spotlight after respective absences.

The report also cites several "Watch List" jurisdictions that are on the cusp -"they may yet fall into the Hellholes abyss or rise to the promise of Equal Justice Under Law."

Included in the Watch List are the Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast of Texas; the once notorious Madison County, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis (the City of), and St. Louis and Jackson counties, Missouri.

Also noted less severely as "other areas to watch" were Orange County, California; St. Clair County, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; Seattle, Washington; New Orleans, Louisiana; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and the states of Minnesota and Oklahoma.

American Tort Reform Association’s -
Annual list of America’s worst “Judicial Hellholes”

American Tort Reform Association’s -
Press Release

See also:
'Judicial Hellhole' Report Pushes Need for Balanced Civil Justice System

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Corporate America and Big Medicine are interested in tort reform, and class actions are out of control, when only the lawyers get big bucks.

But there is a larger problem: Victims of judicial corruption, enslaved by guardianship and conservatorship cases, need judicial transparency and accountability.

There are protective statutes in every state, which are not being obeyed or enforced.

The elderly and disabled have become nothing more than chattel and prey for the unethical and corrupt individuals operating in our court systems.

Anonymous said...

C(r)ook County Illinois - no kidding - judicial hellhole label is being kind.

Madison Dane County Wisconsin? Looks like they are getting the bad southern air from Illinois?

Thank you for posting this very important information - time to put up the FOR SALE SIGN!!!

Anonymous said...

Seriously, I would think almost every state would qualify for the dubious honor of "judicial hellholes".

I've got to admit, the title makes me smile, though!

tvfields said...

I agree with the comment which seems to be critical of the emphasis on tort reform. America has a long history of judges and lawyers who have caused great harm, often undoing the work of the best their profession has to offer.