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Peace, Wealth, Happiness, And Small Claim Courts: A Case Study, Arthur Bestf, Deborah Zalesne, Kathleen Bridges, Kathryn Chenoweth

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article presents empirical data on the operation of the small claims court in the city of Denver. The study underlying this Article evaluated the court in terms of (1) users’ reactions, (2) the correctness of outcomes (recognizing that a determination of the underlying truth may be impossible), (3) the correctness of procedures (allowing for the informality that has been characterized as essential for their operation), and (4) the effective power of the court in terms of enforcement of results. The study shows that small claims courts may be paradigmatic of governmental responses to social problems. They do some good …