Madison County, once a 'judicial hellhole,' finds new respect
With some 1,400 asbestos cases settled here in 2001 and 2002 alone, the county over time became the poster child for frivolous lawsuits.
In 2003, the American Tort Reform Association ranked the county as the top "Judicial Hellhole" in the nation; in 2005, President Bush picked Madison County as the backdrop for his tort reform efforts.So it came as a surprise for her last week when Callis, speaking at a Chicago luncheon for the Illinois Civil Justice League - a group of insurance executives, doctors, tort reform supporters and other business-types - was met with a standing ovation.
"It was a surprise," said Callis, after the event. In previous years, "I would say they would have been unfriendly."
The applause was in large part because Callis and other justices - including Judge Daniel J. Stack and associate judges Thomas W. Chapman and Stephen A. Stobbs, who also attended the luncheon - have been credited with turning the county's once-marred legal status around.
"They were very responsive," Callis said. "It's the rules changes and policies that we've made here. It's a positive impact."
Among the changes are new protocols that make it tougher for out-of-town lawyers to file class action cases in the county, ending a long history of attorneys far and wide flocking here for such cases.
Lawyers are also limited in how many changes in judges they can request on a case and, starting next month, medical malpractice cases must receive mediation before going to trial.
The county is also creating new protocols for a truancy court.
Among observers of the national law climate, the changes in Madison County is garnering attention - one reason Callis was met with such a friendly response in Chicago, said Darren McKinney, a American Tort Reform Association spokesman who was in the audience.
"It was a very good reaction," he said. "She was very well received."
McKinney, whose group writes the annual "Judicial Hellhole" study, pointed especially to the county's new malpractice arbitration.
He said the program could help correct the trend of doctors - especially high-risk practitioners - leaving the county because malpractice insurance was so difficult to obtain. And that translates to better care for residents, he said.
"It has a lot of promise for healthcare consumers in Madison County," he said.
McKinney said other counties should note the program.
"I think that it has potential beyond Madison County. It may actually prove to a boon on the statewide basis," he said.
All together, the changes are helping propel the county forward out of its previous legal standing, he said.
"We think a fabulous step forward considering from whence Madison came," McKinney added later.
He credited groups like his and the media for raising attention about what was happening in Madison County, creating a groundswell of support for voters to elect Callis and other reform-minded judges.
"That media spotlight educated the public and made it easier for voters to go in a different direction," he said.
When asked whether Madison County would remain on the "Judicial Hellhole" list - it was No. 5 last year - when the new study is released in December, McKinney admitted that the improvements have been noted.
"They have moved things in the right direction," he said.
Callis, however, said judges aren't worried about any studies - they just want to make sure the trial process works fairly and efficiently.
"What we do is respond to what believe the community and citizens would want," she said. "We're heading in the right direction. We've had positive response."
E-mail: ccoates@yourjournal.com
