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B. Tort Dodgers Give 15% of Justices’ Money
| Election | Texans for | Texas Civil | Both Tort | Tort Share | |
| Justice | Cycle | Lawsuit Reform | Justice League | Groups | of Total |
| Hecht | 1994 | $208,313 | $171,073 | $379,386 | 18% |
| Owen | 1994 | $123,197 | $81,339 | $204,536 | 17% |
| Baker | 1996 | $66,349 | $59,100 | $125,449 | 11% |
| Phillips | 1996 | $116,027 | $62,230 | $178,257 | 13% |
| Abbott | 1998 | $136,160 | $78,036 | $214,196 | 15% |
| Enoch | 1998 | $103,750 | $85,150 | $188,900 | 12% |
| Hankinson | 1998 | $80,350 | $72,900 | $153,250 | 13% |
| O'Neill | 1998 | $84,400 | $43,500 | $127,900 | 11% |
| Gonzales | 1999 | $20,250 | $13,100 | $33,350 | 16% |
| TOTALS | $938,796 | $666,428 | $1,605,224 | 15% |
Business interests pool huge amounts of money to elect candidates who
are likely to erect barriers to the consumers, workers and communities
who seek to recover damages in court from businesses that have caused them
harm. Initially these business interests invested in legislative- and executive-branch
candidates who would pass and sign business-friendly tort laws. For more
than a decade, they also have invested heavily in state judicial candidates
who will interpret tort laws in their favor. Business interests involved
in the leadership of the two leading business tort PACs—Texans for Lawsuit
Reform and the Texas Civil Justice League—contributed more than $1.6 million
to the most recent campaigns of the sitting justices. This tort money accounted
for $15 out of every $100 the justices raised.