A report released last month depicting St. Louis and Missouri as a “judicial hellhole” is once again being touted as justification for damaging changes to the civil justice system that will make it cheaper and easier to harm or kill Missouri citizens.

In the age of “fake news,” The Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys is calling out The American Tort Reform Association for publishing the pseudo-study they’ve trademarked as “Judicial Hellholes.”

In fact, ATRA’s attempt to pass this rigged report off to legitimate news outlets as evidence that Missouri’s civil justice system is harming business would be laughable if the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform weren’t hanging their legislative agendas on its false narratives.

Says MATA President Jay Benson, of Kirksville:

The report’s only goal is to create panic among legislators and induce them to act against the well-being of the citizens they serve.

For any lawmaker to fall for it and act on this information is counter-intuitive to the oath they’ve taken to uphold the Missouri Constitution, which clearly spells out that “the right to trial by jury shall remain inviolate.”

Promoting a fake ranking that isn’t based on research into actual conditions in the courts is absurd.

The Chamber and the ILR tying their legislative initiatives to this transparently fake study should frighten Missourians. The Chamber’s goals for making Missouri’s business climate better for employers shouldn’t come at the expense of worker, consumer or patient safety.

Founded in 1951, MATA represents 1,300 trial lawyers who are dedicated to protecting the civil justice system and the right to trial by jury, safeguarding victims’ rights, promoting injury prevention, and disclosing information crucial to public health and safety.