Law Commons^™

Experts, Stories, And Information, Richard O. Lempert

Articles

In the infancy of the jury trial, there were no witnesses. The jury was self-informing. Members of the jury were drawn from the community. It was expected that they would know, either firsthand or on the basis of what they had heard, the true facts of any disputed incident, and they were gathered together to say what those facts were. Ronald Allen and Joseph Miller, in their insightful paper, see the ideal of the self-informing jury as very much alive today. Allen and Miller tell us that jurors ideally should experience firsthand the factual information needed to arrive at rational …

Jurors' Views Of Civil Lawyers: Implications For Courtroom Communication, Valerie P. Hans, Krista Sweigart

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In courtroom communication, lawyers play a key role. During presentations of opening statements and closing arguments, and through examination and cross-examination of witnesses, lawyers communicate the merits of the case that the jury is to decide. Yet there is surprisingly little systematic information about how jurors perceive lawyers' communication activities. This Article presents new information based upon an interview study with civil jurors about how jurors view and evaluate attorneys and their courtroom behavior. The results of this study are used to make recommendations about enhancing the effectiveness of lawyers' communications.

Reverse Removal, Joan E. Steinman

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the past several years, the legal community has given a great deal of thought to the problems created by multiparty, multiclaim, multiforum litigation. A flurry of activity and an outpouring of writing have resulted, including proposals for substantial changes in both substantive and procedural law. Congress legislated a number of the recommendations made by the Federal Courts Study Committee when it passed the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990. Additional legislation concerning the handling of complex cases is pending, and further action by Congress over the next several years is probable, in view of the burden that complex litigation imposes …

Waiver: A Comprehensive Analysis Of A Consequence Of Inadvertently Producing Documents Protected By The Attorney-Client Privilege, Roberta M. Harding

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The inadvertent production of documents protected by the attorney-client privilege frequently occurs in contemporary litigation. This phenomena becomes more prevalent as the number of cases involving inadvertent document production grows. Unfortunately, given the present modes for resolving the waiver issue that stems from this occurrence, this occurrence could threaten to become the rule rather than the exception. The increased frequency of inadvertent document production is due primarily to more disputes arising out of production of documents demands by the opposing party that emerge as parties request the production of an increasing number of responsive documents. As a result, the sheer …

Explaining One-Way Fee Shifting, Harold J. Krent

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fee Shifting Under The Equal Access To Justice Act -- A Qualified Success, Harold J. Krent

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Of Citizen Suits And Citizen Sunstein (With E. Shenkman), Harold J. Krent

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rule 11 Gets Moderate Exercise In Montana: Part Ii, Cynthia Ford

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article provides the results of an informal survey of active practicing lawyers in Montana that the author conducted to gather additional information about the actual operation of Rule 11 in Montana and to sample the perceptions of the bar about the use of Rule 11 and its effect on the practice of law in Montana.

Structuring Complexity, Disciplining Reality: The Challenge Of Teaching Civil Procedure In A Time Of Change, Elizabeth M. Schneider

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Civil Justice Reform In The Western District Of Missouri, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Congress passed the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990 out of growing concern about litigation abuse in federal civil lawsuits, increasing cost and delay in those cases, and declining federal court access. The legislation commands every federal district court to promulgate a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan by December 1993. The statute also creates a demonstration program and designates the Northern District of California, the Northern District of West Virginia, and the Western District of Missouri as courts that are to "experiment with various methods of reducing cost and delay in civil litigation, including alternative dispute resolution. …

Supplemental Jurisdiction In § 1441 Removed Cases: An Unsurveyed Frontier Of Congress’ Handiwork, Joan E. Steinman

All Faculty Scholarship

Late in 1990, Congress passed a statute that confers on the district courts “supplemental jurisdiction” over a universe of claims that the courts otherwise would, or might, be unable to hear. Essentially, 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a) authorizes the courts to exercise jurisdiction over claims that are part of the same case or controversy, under Article III of the Constitution, as a claim within the court's original jurisdiction. It explicitly grants jurisdiction over claims that involve the joinder or intervention of additional parties, thereby authorizing what had been dubbed pendent party jurisdiction and some forms of ancillary jurisdiction. It also codifies …

Rule 11: Montana Must Decide Whether To Adopt Softer Federal Version: Part I, Cynthia Ford

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article examines the proposed changes to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and if modified, the decision facing Montana regarding whether to incorporate the new federal changes into the state Rule 11.

The Neumeier-Schultz Rules: How Logical A "Next Stage In The Evolution Of The Law" After Babcock?, Gary J. Simson

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Products Liability Cases On Appeal: An Empirical Study, Theodore Eisenberg, James A. Henderson Jr.

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This article analyzes 1,100 opinions to find the determinants of products liability cases on appeal in state and federal courts. The strongest predictor of plaintiff success on appeal is whether the plaintiff prevailed in a jury trial. Other important factors are the defendant's status as manufacturer, wholesaler, or successor corporation; the plaintiffs degree of injury; and whether the case involved a failure-to-warn claim. The existence of a comparative negligence regime increases the tendency of appellate courts to affirm lower courts. These results allow rejection of a simple model in which pre- and posttrial settlement behavior filters out cases in which …

Opt-Outs At The Outlaw Inn: A Report From Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Report of Prof. Tobias' CLE presentation at the Montana State Bar Association's annual meeting, highlighting the 1993 revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Civil Justice Reform Act.

Recalibrating The Civil Justice Reform Act, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In 1990, Congress enacted the Civil Justice Reform Act ("CJRA"), a measure which could substantially change the nature of federal civil litigation. One aspect of the CJRA that provides evidence respecting the progress of civil justice reform is the civil justice expense and delay reduction plans issued in late 1991 by the thirty-four federal district courts which the Judicial Conference of the United States designated as Early Implementation District Courts ("EIDCs").

Congress is currently attempting to assess the reforms included in these plans, which constitute the initial significant step in implementing the CJRA. By some oversight, Congress has not invited …

Civil Justice Reform In The Fourth Circuit, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Congress passed the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) because it was increasingly concerned about litigation and discovery abuse in federal civil cases, growing cost and delay in such suits, and decreasing access to federal courts. The statute requires that all ninety-four federal district courts develop civil justice expense and delay reduction plans by December 1993. Thirty-four districts issued plans by December 1991, and the Judicial Conference of the United States recently designated these districts as Early Implementation District Courts (EIDC).

Three of those EIDCs, the Eastern District of Virginia, the Northern District of West Virginia, and the Southern …

Executive Branch Civil Justice Reform, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The authors of several papers in this Symposium have justifiably criticized the essay that former Vice President Dan Quayle published in Volume 41 of The American University Law Review. Many knowledgeable observers of the civil justice system have leveled equally legitimate criticism at civil justice reform initiatives that the Bush administration instituted. Questionable data, arguable policy, or overheated political rhetoric supported certain aspects of the Vice President's paper, as well as most of the proposals developed by the Competitiveness Council that the Vice President chaired and numerous efforts of the Republican administration in the area of civil justice reform.

One …

In Defense Of Experimentation With Automatic Disclosure, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

It would be presumptuous of me to criticize either view articulated, and even worse form to choose sides, in the recent dispute over the merits of automatic disclosure that graced the pages of this journal. Federal civil procedure cognoscenti need no introduction to these highly respected participants in, and students of, the federal courts. Former Judge Griffin B. Bell rendered distinguished service on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit before President Jimmy Carter appointed him Attorney General. Senior Judge William W Schwarzer compiled an excellent record of service as a judge of the United States District …

The Clinton Administration And Civil Justice Reform, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Governor Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the President of the United States last month. The federal courts are one area of critical significance to the nation in which the Chief Executive can play a major role in important substantive and procedural policymaking. Moreover, President Clinton, as a former law professor and Arkansas Attorney General, may be particularly interested in issues involving the federal courts.

The Clinton Administration will have to address numerous issues that implicate the federal courts throughout its tenure, but especially during the first year in office. Some of these questions, such as the abolition of diversity jurisdiction, …

For The Civil Practitioner: Review Of Fourth Circuit Opinions In Civil Cases Decided November 1, 1991 Through December 31, 1992: Vii - Federal Civil Procedure, Joan M. Shaughnessy

Scholarly Articles

Review of Fourth Circuit Opinions in Civil Cases.

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the 1992 Survey year, “new” legislation was enacted which fundamentally changes the procedure for commencement of some lawsuits. Effective December 31, 1992, all civil actions in supreme and county courts must be commenced by filing a summons and complaint or summons with notice. Several important amendments to the Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) were enacted and effective January 1, 1993, new IAS and escrow check bouncing rules became effective. Additionally, there have been significant developments in the decisional law of statute of limitations, discovery, sanctions, and the legal profession. These and other areas should be of interest to …

Grass Roots Procedure: Local Advisory Groups And The Civil Justice Reform Act Of 1990, Lauren K. Robel

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Foreword: The Law Of Federal Judicial Discipline And The Lessons Of Social Science, Stephen B. Burbank, Sheldon Jay Plager

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Summary Judgment After Eastman Kodak, William W. Schwarzer, Alan Hirsch

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New Rule 50 May End Directed Verdicts For Plaintiffs, Michael J. Waggoner

Publications

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of "Automatic Disclosure In Discovery", William W. Schwarzer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Adverse Publicity As A Means Of Reducing Judicial Decision-Making Delay: Periodic Disclosure Of Pending Motions, Bench Trials And Cases Under The Civil Justice Reform Act, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

More On Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Montana Federal District Court has been experimenting with practically all of the procedures that it included in the civil justice expense and delay reduction plan that the district formally promulgated in April 1992 under the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990. The Article III judges and the magistrate judges and numerous Montana federal court practitioners have now accumulated considerable experience with the procedures instituted, while efforts are presently being undertaken to evaluate most of the procedures. Numerous new development.s regarding national implementation of federal civil justice reform have also been occurring. Important developments that implicate federal civil justice …

Updating Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Montana Federal District Court has now implemented most aspects of the civil justice expense and delay reduction plan that it formally adopted in April of 1992. Moreover, all of the judicial officers and many Montana attorneys who practice in federal court have had experience with those procedures which the plan imposes. Furthermore, there have been certain new developments relating to the implementation of federal civil justice reform nationally. This article provides an update of significant developments involving federal civil justice reform at the national level and in the Montana District as the court and practitioners enter their second year …