MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

To the Editor:

ATRA’s Judicial Hellholes report should be of interest to all citizens of Madison and St Clair Counties.

ATRA serves as a watchdog over the legal community which some claim has changed the courts from a venue for justice to a ‘litigation business’ designed to re elect judges while making lawyers wealthy. Previously, critics linked the Madison County judicial climate to a poor business environment and problems with health care. They charged businesses and doctors are driven from Madison County. They compare the courthouse as a ‘black hole’ sucking the vitality from other parts of our society.

Although it is too soon to validate all aspects of ATRA’s report one wonders if St. Clair County political machine has ‘copy catted’  the Madison County asbestos machine’s recipe for success in asbestos litigation and seeded a hub for pharmaceutical cases by skirting the provisions of CAFA guidelines.

Phil Chapman

Highland