WASHINGTON, D.C.— Lisa A. Rickard, President of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), made the following statement today on passage of H.B. 153 to address expert evidence standards and ensure junk science is kept out of courts in the state of Missouri. The bill was signed by Gov. Eric Greitens on March 28th.
“Missouri is turning the corner on legal reform and we applaud the legislature and Gov. Eric Greitens’ continued commitment to improving Missouri’s legal climate.
“H.B. 153 requires Missouri courts to adopt a higher expert evidence standard known as Daubert. Enacting the Daubert standard will bring Missouri in line with forty other states and U.S. federal courts when it comes to measuring scientific expertise on common-sense factors.
“We commend the Missouri legislature, specifically bill sponsor Rep. Kevin Corlew, for prioritizing legal reform and passing this important legislation.
“We look forward to continued action on important issues, including venue reform to reduce litigation tourism, asbestos litigation reform to prevent plaintiffs from making double dip claims, and restrictions on the use of private contingency fee lawyers by government prosecutors.”
ILR seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the global, national, state, and local levels.
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