The American Tort Reform Foundation recently released its fifth annual 

 report, putting the spotlight on "America's worst jurisdictions in which to face a lawsuit," reported 

 (1/2007). The ATFR defines judicial hellholes as places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits.  

In its fifth year of release, the ATFR report found that legal abuses have decreased-probably as a result of actions taken by judicial and legislative branches of the state government and bad publicity. But ATFR warns that this positive news can be readily reversed, as groups like the Association of Trial Lawyers of America seek to "rollback reasonable reforms." 

The American Tort Reform Foundation recently released its fifth annual Judicial Hellholes report, putting the spotlight on "America's worst jurisdictions in which to face a lawsuit," reported Medical Liability Monitor (1/2007). The ATFR defines judicial hellholes as places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits.