By By Steve Browning / guest columnist
Oct. 24, 2004
Headline-grabbing legislative battles this past spring and summer over reforming our state court system may have left the impression with some Mississippians that the issue has gone away. Not so.
It's true that our state leaders have attacked the problems plaguing our court system. However, the entire effort to reform our court system could be undermined by judges supporting the special interests of the personal injury lawyer.
Deciding who will control our state Supreme Court may be the most important decision Mississippians will make on Election Day. That's why Mississippians need to be educated about lawsuit abuse in this fall's state judicial elections.
Key decisions
Mississippians will decide on Nov. 2 who will sit in four of our nine state Supreme Court seats. The outcome of these elections will be crucial in protecting our recent civil justice reforms.
We all remember what the lawsuit crisis was doing to Mississippi. "Judicial hellhole" jurisdictions were a dumping ground for junk lawsuits filed by greedy personal injury lawyers across the country. Women needing maternity care drove long distances to find an ob-gyn willing to deliver babies in the face of lawsuit pressures. Employers pointed to our state as a bad place to bring good jobs because of the out-of-control courts.
We could be driven back into this crisis by a lawsuit-friendly state Supreme Court. Alabama is a perfect example of the great role that appellate courts play in tort reform policy.
During the 1990s, the Alabama Legislature enacted a strong, comprehensive tort reform package only to see its state Supreme Court declare the reforms unconstitutional several years later. More balanced Mississippi courts can prevent this situation and protect our laws to ensure that the legal system is fair for all.
Three of the four incumbents seeking re-election favor a traditional or pro-balanced orientation: Justices George Carlson, Bill Waller and Mike Randolph.
The other incumbent, Justice James Graves (Central District, Position 2), seems more lawsuit friendly, bent on seeking to expand laws to help the personal injury lawsuit industry. A study of Justice Graves' court decisions found he favors expanding liability lawsuits and personal injury lawyers are contributing heavily to Justice Graves' campaign.
Justice Graves is challenged by a more balanced candidate, Circuit Judge Samac Richardson, who is supported by healthcare providers, business organizations, and groups working against lawsuit abuse.
Thankfully, with the passage of this year's lawsuit reform bill, Mississippi's court system is now better but people must educate themselves prior to the judicial elections on Nov. 2. To return to the mess our courts were causing for Mississippi citizens not so long ago would be crazy.
Steve Browning is executive director of
Mississippians for Economic Progress in Jackson.