December 15, 2004

The American Tort Reform Association this morning released its 2004 Judicial Hellholes report, which focuses on the worst magnet court jurisdictions in the country. Madison County, Illinois, again ranks as the worst jurisdiction in the country, with neighboring St. Clair County, Illinois, close behind in second place. (The Center for Legal Policy has studied Madison County in three separate civil justice reports, in September 2001 and July 2002 reports by John Beisner and Jessica Davidson Miller, and in an August 2002 report by our own Lester Brickman.)

In addition to the study's information on the worst jurisdictions in the nation, it contains an in-depth analysis of the outstanding legal reform efforts cleaning up Mississippi, which had been for years among the nation's worst jurisdictions. Those interested in a webcast of the report's release conference, including ATRA president Sherman Joyce and ATRA general counsel Victor Schwartz, can go here.