LEADER 04279nam 2200745 a 450 001 9910778529203321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-282-42658-3 010 $a0-226-31469-3 010 $a9786612426582 024 7 $a10.7208/9780226314693 035 $a(CKB)1000000000817821 035 $a(EBL)471814 035 $a(OCoLC)474981234 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000336797 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11241325 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000336797 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10286808 035 $a(PQKB)10036346 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC471814 035 $a(DE-B1597)523292 035 $a(OCoLC)1135579086 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780226314693 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL471814 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10349959 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL242658 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000817821 100 $a20040121d2004 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aDistorting the law$b[electronic resource] $epolitics, media, and the litigation crisis /$fWilliam Haltom and Michael McCann 210 $aChicago $cUniversity of Chicago Press$dc2004 215 $a1 online resource (361 p.) 225 1 $aThe Chicago series in law and society 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-226-31463-4 311 $a0-226-31464-2 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [307]-327) and index. 327 $aThe 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. 330 $aIn recent years, stories of reckless lawyers and greedy citizens have given the legal system, and victims in general, a bad name. Many Americans have come to believe that we live in the land of the litigious, where frivolous lawsuits and absurdly high settlements reign. Scholars have argued for years that this common view of the depraved ruin of our civil legal system is a myth, but their research and statistics rarely make the news. William Haltom and Michael McCann here persuasively show how popularized distorted understandings of tort litigation (or tort tales) have been perpetuated by the mass media and reform proponents. Distorting the Law lays bare how media coverage has sensationalized lawsuits and sympathetically portrayed corporate interests, supporting big business and reinforcing negative stereotypes of law practices. Based on extensive interviews, nearly two decades of newspaper coverage, and in-depth studies of the McDonald's coffee case and tobacco litigation, Distorting the Law offers a compelling analysis of the presumed litigation crisis, the campaign for tort law reform, and the crucial role the media play in this process. 410 0$aChicago series in law and society. 606 $aActions and defenses$xPress coverage$zUnited States 606 $aTorts$xPress coverage$zUnited States 606 $aLaw in mass media 606 $aLaw$xPolitical aspects 606 $aSociological jurisprudence 610 $acourt rules procedures, litigation, legal systems, politics, government, reckless lawyers, greedy citizens, victims, frivolous lawsuits, high settlements, tort tales, mass media, reform, sensationalism, corporate interests, big business, negative stereotypes, law practices, extensive interviews, newspaper coverage, mcdonalds coffee case, tobacco, press, united states, sociological jurisprudence, moral regeneration. 615 0$aActions and defenses$xPress coverage 615 0$aTorts$xPress coverage 615 0$aLaw in mass media. 615 0$aLaw$xPolitical aspects. 615 0$aSociological jurisprudence. 676 $a346.7303 700 $aHaltom$b William$01584141 701 $aMcCann$b Michael W.$f1952-$01584142 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910778529203321 996 $aDistorting the law$93867732 997 $aUNINA