Scads of Empirical Studies

A couple of weeks ago, NYU hosted the Second Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies. Many scholars in this area are using social science research methods to explore different aspects of trials and litigation. Conference papers related to trial advocacy included:

• Kuo-Chang Huang, Does Discovery Promote Settlement? - An Empirical Answer (September 29, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=995349. Since Taiwan added discovery to its civil law system, settlements have increased.


• Seth Seabury, Inferring Beliefs from Selected Samples: Evidence from Civil Litigation (July 5, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998687. Litigants make settlement decisions based on jury verdicts in earlier cases -- but the sample of cases that actually go to trial is skewed, so this skews predictions.


• Gillian K. Hadfield, Settlement Values: How 9/11 Victims Saw the Choice between Money and Going to Court (June 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998647


• Nancy J. King, Habeas Litigation in the U.S. District Courts. 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=999389.


• Jeffrey Fagan, Aaron Kupchik, and Akiva Liberman, Be Careful What You Wish for: Legal Sanctions and Public Safety Among Adolescent Offenders in Juvenile and Criminal Court (July 2007). Columbia Law School, Pub. Law Research Paper No. 03-61 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=491202 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.491202.


• James E. Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, The Private Costs of Patent Litigation (March 2007). Boston University School of Law Working Paper No. 07-08 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=983736.


• Randi Hjalmarsson, Crime and Expected Punishment: Changes in Perceptions at the Age of Criminal Majority (June 30, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1002390.


• Danton Asher Berube & Donald P. Green, The Effects of Sentencing on Recidivism: Results from a Natural Experiment (July 5, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=999445.


• David S. Abrams, Marianne Bertrand, & Sendhil Mullainathan, Do Judges Vary in Their Treatment of Race? (July 5, 2007). Univ. of Chicago, Olin Law and Economics Program, Research Paper Series, Forthcoming Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=913021.


• Russell B. Korobkin & Joseph W. Doherty, Who Wins in Settlement Negotiations? (July 1, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998095.


• Claudia M. Landeo, Tort Reform and Disputes under Endogenous Beliefs (January 20, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=957753.


• Christina L. Boyd, Lee Epstein & Andrew D. Martin, Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging. 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1001748. Looking at federal courts of appeals, the researchers found that female judges were more likely to rule in favor of discrimination plaintiffs and male judges were more likely to do so if there was a woman on the panel.


• Samuel R. Gross & Barbara O'Brien, Frequency and Predictors of False Conviction: Why We Know So Little, and New Data on Capital Cases (September 2007). U of Michigan Public Law Working Paper No. 93 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=996629.


• Joanna Shepherd & Paul H. Rubin, The Demographics of Tort Reform (November 2007). Emory Law and Economics Research Paper No. 07-17 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=967712.

  Tort reform may not affect all segments of society equally. Studies have shown that many tort reforms disproportionately reduce compensation to women, children, the elderly, disadvantaged minorities, and less affluent people. This study goes beyond tort reform's disproportionate effect on compensation, to explore whether tort reform also has a disproportionate effect on accidental death rates. We explain that, theoretically, tort reform's care-level effects and activity-level effects may disproportionately impact the accident rates of different groups. Using the most accurate, comprehensive data on medical malpractice tort reforms and state-level data from 1980-2000, we examine empirically whether tort reforms indeed have such a disproportionate effect. The results from our empirical analysis are consistent with our theoretical predictions. We find that the impact of tort reform varies substantially among demographic groups. When we consider the net effect of all the reforms in our study together, our results suggest that women, children, and the elderly do not enjoy tort reform's benefits as much as men and middle-aged people. In fact, they might even be harmed by reform.

• Herbert M. Kritzer, To Lawyer, or Not to Lawyer, is That the Question? (August 2007). William Mitchell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 82 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1004773.

  A central aspect of much of the debate over access to justice is the cost of legal services. The presumption of most participants in the debate is that individuals of limited or modest means do not obtain legal assistance because they cannot afford the cost of that assistance. The question I consider in this paper is whether income is a major factor in the decision to obtain the assistance of a qualified legal professional. Drawing upon data from five different countries (the United States, England and Wales, Canada, Australia, and Japan) I examine the relationship between income and using a legal professional. The results are remarkably consistent across the five countries: income has relatively little relationship with the decision to use a legal professional to deal with a dispute or other legal need. The decision to use a lawyer appears to be much more a function of the nature of the dispute. Even those who could afford to retain a lawyer frequently make the decision to forego that assistance. The analysis suggests that those considering access to justice issues need to grapple with the more general issues of how those with legal needs, regardless of the resources they have available, evaluate the costs and benefits of hiring a lawyer.

• Catherine T. Harris, Ralph A. Peeples & Thomas B. Metzloff, Does Being a Repeat Player Make a Difference? The Impact of Attorney Experience and Case Picking on the Outcome of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits (July 3, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998105.


• Christina L. Boyd, She'll Settle It: Judges, Their Sex, and the Disposition of Personal Injury Cases in Federal District Courts (July 5, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998649.


• Paul Brace, Jeff L. Yates & Brent Boyea, Institutional Structure and Judge Ideology in Tort Litigation in State Supreme Courts (July 2, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=997907.


• David F. Greenberg & Valerie West, Sentencing Americans to Death After Furman (July, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1000308.


• Elizabeth R. Tenney, Barbara A. Spellman & Robert MacCoun, Expanding the Scope of Cross Examination so that Jurors Can Infer Witness Calibration (September 3, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998593.


• Michelle M. Mello & David M. Studdert, Deconstructing Negligence: The Role of Individual and System Factors in Causing Medical Injuries . Georgetown Law Journal, Forthcoming Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998574.


• David A. Hyman, Bernard S. Black, Charles M. Silver & William M. Sage, Estimating The Effect of Damage Caps in Medical Malpractice Cases: Evidence from Texas (October 2007). U of Texas Law, Law and Econ Research Paper No. 106 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=995649.


• Ronen Avraham & Alvaro E. Bustos, The Unexpected Effect of Tort Reform: Do Caps Delay Settlements? (June 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=997112.


• Thomas H. Cohen, Do Federal and State Courts Differ in How They Handle Civil Trial Litigation: A Portrait of Civil Trials in State and Federal District Courts (June 28, 2006). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=912691.


• Stephen J. Choi, G. Mitu Gulati & Eric A. Posner, Professionals or Politicians: The Uncertain Empirical Case for an Elected Rather Than Appointed Judiciary (August 2007). U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 357 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1008989


• Alyna Jehle, Monica K. Miller & Markus Kemmelmeier, The Influence of Accounts and Remorse on Mock Jurors' Judgments of Offenders (July 3, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998122.


• Rachlinski , Jeffrey J., Johnson, Sheri Lynn, Wistrich, Andrew J. and Guthrie, Chris, "Does Unconscious Bias Affect Trial Judges?" (July 9, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=999490.


• Mary R. Rose, Christopher G. Ellison & Shari Seidman Diamond, Preferences for Juries Over Judges Across Racial and Ethnic Groups (July 2, 2007). 2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=998050. Asked whether they'd prefer a judge or jury to make decisions in four hypothetical situations, whites preferred judges by much higher margins than did blacks or Hispanics.
  

Photo from National Institutes of Health Medical Instrument Gallery.