Judges have great power over our laws and our lives. 
Judges make decisions that affect:
• our safety;
• our environment;
• our health care;
• our jobs and economy;
• our schools; and
• fairness in our courts
On November 4th, be an informed voter and judge for yourself.
 
Good judges matter and so does your vote. Here’s why:
 
Judges wield extraordinary and largely unchallenged power.
Decisions of our highest state court are final and set the law for our state unless the case is reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.  A few judges can even invalidate a law approved by the Legislature.  And these decisions can last for generations.
 
Good judges are the foundation of a properly functioning justice system.
The role of a judge is to apply and uphold the law as written – and not to create new laws through inventive legal opinions that may be based on the narrow circumstances of a single legal case.
 
Judges should ensure that all parties are treated fairly.
Judges have the power to provide justice for those who have been wronged and protect our courts from abuse by dismissing junk lawsuits that clog our courts and delay justice for the truly injured.
 
Judicial elections give voters an important voice in determining who represents their interests in the legal system.
State judicial elections are often decided by a small margin.  Every vote counts.

On November 4, 2008, Texans will vote for three Supreme Court seats.

Don’t let someone else pick your judges. Learn about the candidates and vote.
Because good judges matter.
 
For more information about upcoming judicial elections, visit www.TALA.com.

 

Excessive tort costs in the United States due to lawsuit abuse.

 

Cost of liability insurance for a Texas dredging company per employee due to an explosion of dredging lawsuits in the state. Dallas Business Journal, July 20, 2007.

Percentage of small business owners who say they could grow their business if they were protected from lawsuit abuse. "Small Businesses: How the Threat of Lawsuits Impacts Their Operations" Harris Interactive, May 10, 2007.

 

The amount of tort-related costs paid by small businesses in 2005. About $20 billion of that was paid out-of-pocket rather than through insurance. "Tort Liability Costs for Small Business" Institute for Legal Reform, May 2007.

Estimated annual "tort tax" imposed by the U.S. tort system on a family of four. The U.S. tort system costs $865 billion annually – or $9,827 for a family of four, according to a recent study by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI). The number is: 30 times the National Institutes for Health budget to cure deadly diseases; 27 times federal spending on Homeland Security; 13 times Department of Education funding; and equivalent to the total yearly sales of the entire U.S. restaurant industry. The report also found that the practice of “defensive medicine” by physicians fearing litigation increases health care costs by $124 billion per year. This new comprehensive examination of U.S. tort costs calculates both the direct and the indirect costs of America’s legal system. (Pacific Research Institute, Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America’s Tort System, 2007)

 

Number of applications the Texas Medical Board received for state medical licenses in 2006, up 35 percent from 2005, in large part due to recent legal reforms. Austin Business Journal, March 19. 2007

 

Fear of frivolous litigation and outrageous jury verdicts has caused manufacturers to limit distribution or stop production of life-saving implantable medical devices, pacemakers and stents. Seventy-five percent of suppliers of biomaterials used to make medical implants banned sales to U.S. manufacturers as a result of these fears. ("Biomaterials Availability: a Vital Health Care Industry Hangs in the Balance," Aronoff Associates for HIMA; "How FDA Regulation and Injury Litigation Cripple the Medical Device Industry," Policy Analysis 412, August 28, 2001)