South Dakota

101 Ways to Improve State Legal Systems

This document provides a compilation of legal reforms in 23 areas for potential consideration by state legislatures. Within each area, the report briefly discusses the purpose of and need for each reform. In several areas, the report notes whether the reform is needed in particular states.

 This report does not provide an assessment of the general political feasibility of enacting legal reform in any individual state. Some states, such as Texas, have a reputation as being generally supportive of legal reform. Other states, such as Massachusetts, are hostile to any legislation that would be opposed by the plaintiffs’ bar. The analysis in this report does not purport to include any such state-specific political evaluation, which must occur before the effectiveness and feasibility of any reform can be fully understood. LEARN MORE »