Wisconsin earned national recognition as a “Tort Reform Trailblazer” in the American Tort Reform Association’s 2026 Legislative HeatCheck report after lawmakers tightened the rules on courtroom evidence, raising the bar for the expert testimony juries can hear.
“Wisconsin lawmakers took a decisive step to keep junk science out of the courtroom,” said Lauren Sheets Jarrell, ATRA’s vice president and counsel for civil justice policy. “This is a commonsense reform that will protect the integrity of trials in the future.”
Senate Bill 459 aligns Wisconsin’s expert evidence rules with the federal courts’ Rule of Evidence 702, giving judges stronger tools to keep unreliable testimony out of courts. Lawyers must now prove to a judge that an expert’s opinion is based on sufficient facts, uses a reliable method, and applies that method correctly to the facts of the case before the jury hears a word of it.
The Republican-sponsored bill cleared both legislative chambers without a single recorded “no” vote and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law in March.
Lax evidence standards have led to made-for-litigation science reaching juries in high-profile trials nationwide involving products like talcum baby powder, Tylenol and the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup.
“Credentials alone shouldn’t get an expert witness in front of a jury,” Sheets Jarrell said. “This law makes sure Wisconsin judges have the tools to keep unreliable testimony out of the courtroom before it can produce an unjust verdict.”
Recent data shows that excessive litigation costs Wisconsin families nearly $5,420 a year in a “tort tax” for a family of four, or $1,355 per person. That’s enough to buy nearly 38 regular-season Packers tickets, according to ATRA’s report. Excessive tort costs also contribute to the loss of 68,658 jobs and $8.1 billion in economic output statewide each year, along with $415.9 million in lost state government revenue.
ATRA’s recent Junk Science Playbook report documents how a coordinated network of plaintiffs’ lawyers, litigation-friendly labs and advocacy groups manufacture studies engineered for the courtroom rather than genuine scientific inquiry, then rely on friendly expert witnesses to get that research in front of a jury. The report points to acetaminophen and vaccine-safety litigation as recent examples of the dubious science Wisconsin’s new law is designed to catch.
Wisconsin joins Kansas and New Mexico as ATRA’s 2026 “Tort Reform Trailblazers” in its latest Legislative HeatCheck. The full Legislative HeatCheck report is available at heatcheck.atra.org.
