Free Republic

A national lawsuit reform association has named the Rio Grande Valley as the second-worst “judicial hellhole” for 2007. The Rio Grande Valley and Texas’ Gulf Coast collectively made up the second-worst area in the country for “the nation’s most unfair civil court jurisdictions,” according to a report released Tuesday by the Washington, D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association. “Judicial hellholes” are state courts where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits, according to the organization. The Rio Grande Valley has ranked on the “judicial hellhole” rankings for the past...

EDINBURG — A national lawsuit reform association has named the Rio Grande Valley as the country’s worst "Judicial Hellhole" for 2005. The Rio Grande Valley and Texas’ Gulf Coast collectively topped the American Tort Reform Association’s list of regions in which courts have a "disproportionately harmful impact on civil litigation." The organization issued its report Dec. 13. Plaintiff attorneys seek out the six locations on the list because they are known for jurors who return large verdicts, according to the report. In fact, local court cases this year have begun to indicate plaintiffs find ways to try many of their...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) President Bush plans to use his first trip of the new year to visit a little southern Illinois county with a big reputation as one of the country's best places for lawyers to file enormous lawsuits. Labeled a ``judicial hellhole'' by one group, Madison County is already a focal point in the national debate over lawsuit reform, and Bush's presence is certain to raise its profile even higher. During a visit to Collinsville Wednesday, Bush will address more than 1,000 doctors, business leaders and Republican officials on reining in lawsuits that the president says have driven up...