Tort Reform Debate Continues Amid Legal Uncertainty

Activists on both sides of tort reform say they’ll proceed with their voter education campaigns despite a judge’s ruling stated that so-called Issue One is not qualified for the November ballot in Arkansas.

At a Northeast Arkansas Political Animals forum held at the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce on Friday, speakers debated the merits of caps limiting medical malpractice awards and said the conversation will continue, despite Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce’s ruling on Sept. 6 that the proposed amendment does not meet a “single-subject test.”

That ruling is being challenged by Arkansans for Jobs and Justice.

Last year the Arkansas General Assembly passed the ballot item. It would cap punitive and damage awards plaintiffs may win in, for instance, a medical malpractice lawsuit, as well as give the Assembly rulemaking and procedural oversight of the judiciary. These two seemingly disparate results prompted Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce to rule the measure unconstitutional earlier this week.

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