So over the weekend, TV viewers may have seen Gov. Rick Perry singing the praises of jury duty on their TV set.

Youtube video

Look’s like something that may have come from the Attorney General’s office, right? Wrong-o. So who are Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas, the outfit paying for this ad time?

While it sounds grassroots, CALATX is pure astroturf. It’s one of the 50 state-based operations, originally backed by the American Tort Reform Association and funded by Altria Group (better known as Philip Morris), fighting to de-fang lawsuits from the victims of bad business practices.

And who’s website are people pointed to at the end of the ad? Why, CALATX’s, of course!

So when Perry says that juries “determine who’s right, who pays damages,” the emphasis may really be on the back-end of that statement.

This article appears in January 23 • 2009.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.