You have to admire a group that feels so little need to persuade non-believers that it describes entire U.S. metropoli as "hellholes".
The American Tort Reform Association does just that, year in, year out.
Max Kennerly, in his Litigation and Trial, takes a look at the latest instance of ATRA's preaching to the tort reform choir. He points out that ATRA demonizes the City of Brotherly Love because state judges there move cases to trial.
Ahem.
Blawgletter did a short thing about the 2007 incarnation of the, ah, ATRA report, noting a scholarly comment that "[i]t has no apparent methodology". We added:
[Y]ou'd better not compose your own list of judicial hellholes. That little "(R)" in Judicial Hellholes(R) means ATRA registered it with the Patent and Trademark Office — presumably so they can sue your pants off for tradmark infringement if you use "hellhole" to describe a court where, say, defendants win all the time. Even if you have a methodology.
Don't say we didn't warn you. Because we did. Three years ago.
[Update note: We've swapped the photo of a sleeping Butch, the hellcat, for one of an awake, eyes a-glowing Butch, the hellcat.]