04279nam 2200745 a 450 991077852920332120200520144314.01-282-42658-30-226-31469-3978661242658210.7208/9780226314693(CKB)1000000000817821(EBL)471814(OCoLC)474981234(SSID)ssj0000336797(PQKBManifestationID)11241325(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000336797(PQKBWorkID)10286808(PQKB)10036346(MiAaPQ)EBC471814(DE-B1597)523292(OCoLC)1135579086(DE-B1597)9780226314693(Au-PeEL)EBL471814(CaPaEBR)ebr10349959(CaONFJC)MIL242658(EXLCZ)99100000000081782120040121d2004 ub 0engur|n|---|||||txtccrDistorting the law[electronic resource] politics, media, and the litigation crisis /William Haltom and Michael McCannChicago University of Chicago Pressc20041 online resource (361 p.)The Chicago series in law and societyDescription based upon print version of record.0-226-31463-4 0-226-31464-2 Includes bibliographical references (p. [307]-327) and index.The social production of legal knowledge -- Pop torts : tales of legal degeneration and moral regeneration -- In retort : narratives versus numbers -- ATLA shrugged : plaintiffs' lawyers play defense -- Full tort press : media coverage of civil litigation -- Java jive : genealogy of a juridical icon -- Smoke signals from the tobacco wars -- Law through the looking glass of mass politics.In recent years, stories of reckless lawyers and greedy citizens have given the legal system, and victims in general, a bad name. Many Americans have come to believe that we live in the land of the litigious, where frivolous lawsuits and absurdly high settlements reign. Scholars have argued for years that this common view of the depraved ruin of our civil legal system is a myth, but their research and statistics rarely make the news. William Haltom and Michael McCann here persuasively show how popularized distorted understandings of tort litigation (or tort tales) have been perpetuated by the mass media and reform proponents. Distorting the Law lays bare how media coverage has sensationalized lawsuits and sympathetically portrayed corporate interests, supporting big business and reinforcing negative stereotypes of law practices. Based on extensive interviews, nearly two decades of newspaper coverage, and in-depth studies of the McDonald's coffee case and tobacco litigation, Distorting the Law offers a compelling analysis of the presumed litigation crisis, the campaign for tort law reform, and the crucial role the media play in this process.Chicago series in law and society.Actions and defensesPress coverageUnited StatesTortsPress coverageUnited StatesLaw in mass mediaLawPolitical aspectsSociological jurisprudencecourt rules procedures, litigation, legal systems, politics, government, reckless lawyers, greedy citizens, victims, frivolous lawsuits, high settlements, tort tales, mass media, reform, sensationalism, corporate interests, big business, negative stereotypes, law practices, extensive interviews, newspaper coverage, mcdonalds coffee case, tobacco, press, united states, sociological jurisprudence, moral regeneration.Actions and defensesPress coverageTortsPress coverageLaw in mass media.LawPolitical aspects.Sociological jurisprudence.346.7303Haltom William1584141McCann Michael W.1952-1584142MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910778529203321Distorting the law3867732UNINA