When ATLA’s Constitutional Litiga-
tion Program started ten years ago, its purpose was to disseminate information on state and federal Constitutional issues important to ATLA members. But in 1995, ATLA Program attorneys became directly involved with Constitutional liti- gation when they joined forces with renowned Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe and members of the Illi- nois Trial Lawyers Association to strike down Illinois’ newly passed tort ‘reform’ law. Since that time the Program’s attor- neys have won every challenge to state tort ‘reform’ measures they have litigated. “What we’ve discovered is that there has been little attention to ‘access to justice’ issues both in academic literature and in jurisprudence of the courts,” Peck says. “Our Constitutional Litigation Program has attempted to fill that void.” All documents filed in this case are available to MTLA members for $15.00. Please contact Jeff Rees at the MTLA of- fice, 410-539-4336.
ATLA’s Constitutional Litigation Program’s Record
ATLA’s Constitutional Litigation Program has won in every state where it has fought laws promoting tort ‘reform.’
• Last August, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down a 246-page statute that would have burdened Ohio citizens with caps on non-economic and puni- tive damages, limits on joint and several liability, abrogation of the collateral source rule, and certificates of merit in medical malpractice cases. ATLA prepared and argued the unprecedented challenge, and the Court found the statute “unconstitutional in toto,” saying that “the Ohio General Assembly attempted to exercise powers that the Ohio Constitution specifically granted only to the state’s judiciary.”
• Last July, after ATLA challenged it, the Indiana Supreme Court voted 4-1 to declare a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice victims un- constitutional as applied to victims of undiagnosed breast cancer. The Indiana law had measured the limitations period from the time of treatment rather than the time of reasonable discovery.
• Also in July, the Oregon Supreme Court unanimously struck down a 12- year-old state law limiting non-economic damages, finding that a cap on damages violates the state constitutional guarantee of an “inviolate” right to trial by jury. Working with the Oregon ATLA members who challenged the law, the ATLA team wrote an amicus brief and contributed research to the merit brief that helped achieve this victory.
• In December 1997, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down another omni- bus tort ‘reform’ law as violative of the separation of powers and the state constitutional bar on special litigation. ATLA played a major role in win- ning this decision, contributing to both the winning briefs and the underlying affidavits.
Winter 2000
Trial Reporter
9
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