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Full-Text Articles in Law
Holmes And The Common Law: A Jury's Duty, Matthew P. Cline
Holmes And The Common Law: A Jury's Duty, Matthew P. Cline
Matthew P Cline
The notion of a small group of peers whose responsibility it is to play a part in determining the outcome of a trial is central to the common conception of the American legal system. Memorialized in the Constitution of the United States as a fundamental right, and in the national consciousness as the proud, if begrudged, duty of all citizens, juries are often discussed, but perhaps not always understood. Whatever misunderstandings have come to be, certainly many of them sprang from the juxtaposition of jury and judge. Why do we have both? How are their responsibilities divided? Who truly decides …
Comparative Negligence And Mitigation Of Damages: Two Sister Doctrines In Search Of Reunion, Dr. Yehuda Adar
Comparative Negligence And Mitigation Of Damages: Two Sister Doctrines In Search Of Reunion, Dr. Yehuda Adar
Yehuda Adar Dr.
This article addresses a puzzle in Anglo-American tort law. Notwithstanding the now unquestionable victory of comparative negligence over the old all- or-nothing doctrine of contributory negligence, the doctrine of mitigation (or avoidable consequences) remains intact. Under comparative negligence, any loss that the victim could have avoided is apportioned between the victim and the tortfeasor. In contrast, under the doctrine of mitigation, a tort victim can never recover for any element of loss that could have been avoided. The apparent tension between these two loss allocation mechanisms was identified by the drafters of the Third Restatement of Torts, which proposed abolishing …