News & Brews December 11, 2024
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Pa. state Senator to become McCormick’s state director
GOP Pa. state Sen. Ryan Aument (Lancaster County) will resign his senate seat to become Sen.-elect Dave McCormick’s state director (typically the most senior staff role outside of D.C., responsible for representing the senator in the state and overseeing state operations). Aument was first elected to the state House in 2010 and then to the state Senate in 2014. After Aument officially resigns his seat, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis will have 10 days to schedule a special election in the heavily Republican district. The winner of that election will complete the final two years of Aument’s four-year term.
Malpractice cases drop in Philly ‘burbs, skyrocket in city
I’ve shared multiple times how the recent rule change allowing trial lawyers to file lawsuits in counties other than where the alleged offense occurred has led to a steep increase in medical malpractice cases filed in plaintiff-friendly Philly. Well, the Inquirer now reports that per data released by the Pa. Supreme Court, “The number of medical malpractice filings fell nearly by half last year in Philadelphia’s suburban counties, while they almost doubled in the city.”Specifically, “Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties in 2023 collectively saw a 49% decline from the prior year in the number of medical malpractice cases filed, to 123 from 239. The number of cases in Philadelphia, by contrast, increased 97% to 541 from 275, state data show.” Among the many detriments of so-called venue shopping are that it makes it more difficult for Pa. to keep healthcare providers and it leads hospitals to cut services. But guess who benefits? Trial lawyers.
Pa. (again) tops the list of nation’s ‘judicial hellholes’
Related to the above story, Pennsylvania once again tops the list of the country’s Judicial Hellholes, according to the annual rankings released by the American Tort Reform Association. Coming in at Number One on this ignominious list are the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.“Lawsuit abuse in the City of Brotherly Love has reached a fever pitch with nuclear verdicts becoming the norm and novel theories of liability flourishing,” the ranking notes, “Eye-popping nine-figure damage awards were issued without hardly a thought and medical liability lawsuits continue to flood the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas due to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate an important requirement for entry.” What’s more, “Plaintiffs’ lawyers spend millions of dollars [in campaign contributions] to ensure that Pennsylvania remains a plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction.” And, “The Top 2 recipients of trial bar campaign contributions [are] Justice Daniel McCaffery of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Judge Maria McLaughlin of the Pennsylvania Superior Court.” We have ranked among the top 10 judicial hellholes for the past eight years straight, coming in at Number One or Two in five of those eight years.
Bucks County Dems’ vote to violate election law prompts recall legislation
Democrats on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners made national news last month after voting to violate state law and ignore court rulings and count undated mail-in ballots. Who can forget Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia’s saying, “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country. People violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention”? Now, Republican state Rep. Joe D’Orsie (York County) is proposing a constitutional amendment “that will allow for the removal of county or municipal elected officials before their term of office has expired.” The Delaware Valley Journal explains that the amendment would create “a process by which local officials could be recalled for acts of official misconduct. Under the plan, once the House passed judgment, voters would then be able to decide whether or not to keep those officials in office.”
Task force releases final assassination attempt report
Yesterday, the U.S. House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump issued its final report, which included “dozens of recommendations to improve the U.S. Secret Service after widespread criticism of the agency.” The Tribune-Review reports that in the 180-page report, the task force—chaired by GOP U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, whose district includes the Butler, Pa. site of the first assassination attempt—“made 25 specific recommendations and 11 general ones. They included centralizing security operations, improving interagency communication, recording all Secret Service radio transmissions and offering more training for drone operators.” You can read the full report here and the task force’s press release from yesterday here.