For those of you following mass tort litigation in Mississippi, a bombshell ruling will be forthcoming from the 22d District Circuit Court, Judge Pickard. Since the Janssen v. Bailey ruling a few months ago from the Supremes, we've had a new regime of judicial enforcement of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. In court on Friday, Judge Pickard announced that he was going to effectively bar asbestos and silica products liability cases in Jefferson and Claiborne Counties, because about half of every jury pool consists of named plaintiffs in asbestos and silica cases. Accordingly, the defendants would not be able to ever get a fair trial in those two counties.

Maybe Mississippi will cease to be regarded as the second worst state in the country for civil justice.