On Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court voiced its support for the unalienable right to a civil jury trial by striking down a section of the state tort reform law. In the medical malpractice case of Teresa Broussard v. St. Edward Mercy Medical Center, the court ruled that sections of the law establishing standards for medical witness testimony were an unconstitutional infringement on the court's authority to decide witness qualifications. Chief Justice Jim Hanna upheld the court's right to determine the constitutionality of a state medical malpractice law and protected the court's sole authority to determine witness qualifications. He also reiterated a section of Arkansas law stipulating that the trial court "always has the inherent authority to secure the fair trial rights of litigants before it."
It wasn't the first time the court voided part of the state "Civil Justice Reform Act of 2003" and protected the rights of plaintiffs. Late last year, the court ruled that the section of that law capping punitive damages was unconstitutional, and in 2009, ruled that sections of the law limiting evidence of medical costs and allowing defendants to reduce their liability by naming "non-parties at fault" were unconstitutional for the same reason.
Let's hope other state supreme courts follow the Arkansas court's lead in protecting the right to a civil jury trial, and then take it a step further by striking down all onerous limitations on the right to a jury trial for civil suits.
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