Jackpot Justice +20: Former special counsel to Mississippi Senate gives inside look into tort reform’s passage

This is the third installment in the Y’all Politics series looking back at the passage of tort reform that occurred 20 years ago in the longest special session in Mississippi history. 

The fall of 2002 saw the longest special session in Mississippi history. The purpose of the call by former Governor Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat, was to enact meaningful tort reform despite push back from his trial lawyer donors.

READ PART 1 – Jackpot Justice +20: Tort reform’s impact on Mississippi

The result of that special session now 20 years ago not only changed the legal community and made the state more business friendly, but it changed the face of politics in Mississippi to this day.

READ PART 2 – Jackpot Justice +20: Taggart, Nash look back at impact of the longest special session in state history

Gulf Coast attorney Jimmy Heidelberg was Special Counsel to the Mississippi Senate for most of that 2002 special session. He continues to practice law in Pascagoula and routinely advises clients and state leaders.

Heidelberg recently joined Y’all Politics to look back at the legal climate before Governor Musgrove and the Legislature agreed to address the state’s “jackpot justice” system while also giving a behind the scenes look into what transpired over those 83 days that set Mississippi on a new legal and political path.

Watch the full interview with Heidelberg below.