This week we are wrapping up the hot coffee case and the crazy push for tort reform starting in the mid 80s. Last week we talked specifically about one case but this week we get into the insidious and ultimately successful plan to make it as hard as possible for the everyday American to use the US Court system.

We discussed the formation of ATRA, the American Tort Reform Association, a collection of likeminded business interests that were very interested in spending lots of money to shift public opinion on the topic of tort reform from Pro-Consumer to aggressively Pro-Business.

From there we looked at Carl Rove and Former President George W Bush's Texas gubernatorial race. Bush, backed by Rove, ran on a platform pushing hard on tort reform with the goal of attracting as much big business funding as possible. In Texas Bush and rove completely crippled Tort Law and took that mindset and all of that big business money right to the white house.

We talk about the formation of hundreds of astroturf movements focused on enacting Bush and Rove's "ideas" all over the country. Including Mandatory Minimums, pro business court packing, and the expansion of forced arbitration clauses.

Also Dishonorable Mention: did you know that the US Chamber of Commerce is not actually a government institution? It is in fact the largest single lobbying group in the country. Funneling millions and millions of dollars every year into state and local judicial races to uphold dubiously constitutional laws and strike down any lawsuits that make it through all of the other well constructed barriers to the US court system.

We discovered way too many sadness tangents on this journey so despite all that I hope you all enjoy the episode! Thanks for listening!!

Sources:

“Hot Coffee” by Directed by Susan Saladoff (2011) (Rented from Youtube)

"DisTort-ing the Law: Politics, Media, And The Litigation Crisis" By WIlliam Haltom and Michael McCann(2004)

Send us a text! Let us know what topics you want us to cover!