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Full-Text Articles in Law
Xenophilia In American Courts, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg
Xenophilia In American Courts, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg
Kevin M. Clermont
Foreigner! The word says it all. Verging on the politically incorrect, the expression is full of connotation and implication. A foreigner will face bias. By such a thought process, many people believe that litigants have much to fear in courts foreign to them. In particular, non-Americans fare badly in American courts. Foreigners believe this. Even Americans believe this. Such views about American courts are understandable. After all, the grant of alienage jurisdiction to the federal courts, both original and removal, constitutes an official assumption that xenophobic bias is present in state courts. As James Madison said of state courts: “We …
Improving On The Contingent Fee, Kevin M. Clermont, John D. Currivan
Improving On The Contingent Fee, Kevin M. Clermont, John D. Currivan
Kevin M. Clermont
Two basic fees--contingent and hourly--dominate the variety of fees that lawyers charge clients for pursuing damage claims. Each of these two types has its advantages; each is plagued with substantial disadvantages. This Article proposes a new type of fee, one that preserves the respective advantages of the two present fees while minimizing their distinct disadvantages. In essence, the proposed fee calls for the payment, on a contingent basis, of an amount computed by adding one component tied to hours worked and another component linked to amount recovered. The preferability and feasibility of this proposed fee argue for the abolishment, or …
Courts In Cyberspace, Theodore Eisenberg, Kevin M. Clermont
Courts In Cyberspace, Theodore Eisenberg, Kevin M. Clermont
Kevin M. Clermont
No abstract provided.
Trial By Jury Or Judge: Transcending Empiricism, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg
Trial By Jury Or Judge: Transcending Empiricism, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg
Kevin M. Clermont
Pity the civil jury, seen by some as the sickest organ of a sick system. Yet the jury has always been controversial. One might suppose that, with so much at stake for so long, we would all know a lot about the ways juries differ from judges in their behavior. In fact, we know remarkably little. This Article provides the first large-scale comparison of plaintiff win rates and recoveries in civil cases tried before juries and judges. In two of the most controversial areas of modern tort law--product liability and medical malpractice--the win rates substantially differ from other cases' win …