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Full-Text Articles in Law
What's Good In Theory May Be Flawed In Practice: Potential Legal Consequences Of Poor Implementation Of A Theoretical Sample, Melanie S. Williams, A. Lynn Phillips, G. Michael Phillips
What's Good In Theory May Be Flawed In Practice: Potential Legal Consequences Of Poor Implementation Of A Theoretical Sample, Melanie S. Williams, A. Lynn Phillips, G. Michael Phillips
Melanie S. Williams
The article discusses the problem of the use in litigation of statistical sampling. Sample-based research is increasingly used in cases as diverse as products liability, antitrust, intellectual property, and criminal law, among others. Sample-based research provides objective evidence upon which decisions, damages and liability may rest. Despite its importance, however, statistical evidence is often misused and misunderstood by attorneys who may be unfamiliar with the underlying form of analysis. The paper explores common errors when using litigative samples, comments upon best practices for the use in law of sample-based research, and demonstrates the importance of sound statistical sampling and data …
Judicial Expenditures And Litigation Access: Evidence From Auto Injuries, Paul Heaton, Eric Helland
Judicial Expenditures And Litigation Access: Evidence From Auto Injuries, Paul Heaton, Eric Helland
Paul Heaton
Despite claims of a judicial funding crisis, there exists little direct evidence linking judicial budgets to court utilization. Using data on thousands of auto injuries covering a 15-year period, we measure the relationship between state-level court expenditures and the propensity of injured parties to pursue litigation. Controlling for state and plaintiff characteristics and accounting for the potential endogeneity of expenditures, we show that expenditures increase litigation access, with our preferred estimates indicating that a 10% budget increase increases litigation rates by 3%. Consistent with litigation models in which high litigation costs undermine the threat posture of plaintiffs, increases in court …