WEBSTER: STATE BEGINS TO COUNTER FRIVOLOUS SUITS

JACKSON -- Missouri inmates who file frivolous state lawsuits are being targeted with countersuits to discourage the activity, says state Attorney General William L. Webster.

Speaking at a noon luncheon Tuesday before the Jackson Rotary Club, Webster said the suits, filed by his office, have had a very "therapeutic" effect. In Moberly, he said, his office filed a countersuit, got a judgment, and within two weeks inmates had dismissed over 200 lawsuits.

"They got the message that we would go after their cigarette money and their magazine money if they were lying," Webster said.

The office has also put in a provision that says if lawyers bring frivolous suits they too can be held responsible for attorneys' fees, he said.

"So it's not just the plaintiff, but also the lawyer, who should theoretically know better. We think that has had some positive impact as well."

Webster said a frivolous suit is really filed against taxpayers, who foot the bill. Too many exist, he said.

The U.S. Senate, he said, has passed a crime bill the same legislation known as the Brady Bill that addresses the "never-ending" unlawful restraint appeals filed by convicted federal prisoners. Webster said the prisoners clog the federal court system by raising the same issue over and over again.

"(The bill) says you're going to get one bite of the apple, you aren't going to get four." The bill, Webster said, is now before the U.S. House of Representatives.

On average a capital case now takes 10 years to settle with these appeals, said Webster. Nationally there are 10,000 cases. Roughly half the cases clogging the federal courts in Missouri, he said, are inmate-related claims.

"The president said, and the United States Senate agreed: `It is ridiculous; we need to shorten this process down to three or four years. Inmates have rights, but they don't have more rights than everybody else and it doesn't go on forever.'"

Webster also touched on a variety of other topics Tuesday. He discussed the state's drug problem, desegregation cases, competitiveness with other states, and the education funding-and-reform measure, Proposition B, which will be voted on statewide Nov. 5.

Though he supports Proposition B, Webster said he believes there is a frustration with government in general. And, when government asks for more money, he said, there's a tendency on the public's part to believe that the money isn't going to go where it's supposed to.

The challenge, if state and federal governments want to raise money, he said, is to satisfy the public's desire to have the money earmarked. That's why the state was able to pass its highway tax; because it said the money would be put toward this particular bridge or road, Webster said.

"I think that if there is a trend we get from all of this cynicism out there, it's that public officials are not particularly well regarded, and so the public wants to know exactly where the money's going to go before they sign off on the bill."

Webster said the main challenge in the years ahead for both the state government and businesspeople will be how Missouri competes with other states. Webster said he believes that Missouri, in many ways, needs good transportation access.

But the bottom line, he said, is that Missouri is competitive on many fronts. Thirty-five states face dire financial times, yet Missouri is not among them, he said.

By comparison, in California, a state with a $14 billion deficit, the average house runs $245,000, Webster said. The average commute is almost three hours and the weekly worker's compensation wage is pushing $700.

"You have very few incentives to work as opposed to getting hurt when your weekly wage is 700 bucks," Webster said. Yet suddenly the state is wondering why 100,000 aerospace jobs have left Southern California in the last 12 months.

"The bottom line is Missouri is in a good position to be a beneficiary of that, especially areas like this which are growing because you have a good work ethic, you have progressive government; because you have good schools and because you have a very good quality of life."