Those who are involved in the civil jury process know first-hand of the genius and value of trial by jury. To preserve and restore the civil jury trial, we must make the pretrial process faster, cheaper, and more user-friendly. The focus of this article will be to highlight a pilot project proposal under development in Colorado to do just that.
This report sets forth the results of our civil litigation survey of Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel belonging to the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Pleadings are the gateway to the American civil justice system. Parties must be able to afford to stay in the system long enough to narrow their disputed issues and collect relevant evidence for presentation to a judge or jury.
This publication provides an overview of the collaboration between IAALS and the ACTL Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice. It also offers clarification and context for research and recommendations that have generated significant discussion nationwide.
This survey explored the views of members of the Oregon State Bar concerning civil procedure in Circuit Court, the state court of general jurisdiction. This survey provides wisdom from a jurisdiction where some of the federal rules were never put in place.
This survey explored the views of members of the State Bar of Arizona concerning civil procedure in Arizona Superior Court, the state court of general jurisdiction. This survey was developed to examine the practical impact of rules changes in 1992, and to contribute additional information to the dialogue on civil process reform.
This report represents the third stage of an extended IAALS study of civil litigation in Oregon. The first two stages examined civil case processing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and perceptions of the Oregon bench and bar about the state’s civil justice system. This report includes analysis of state and federal dockets in the same county.
This article summarizes our results of a survey of Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The survey collected the opinions of nearly 1500 experienced litigators, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, on a wide range of issues concerning the civil justice system and the pretrial process.
Published in collaboration with the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery, this report serves as a guide for states interested in testing recommendations designed to reduce cost and delay in the civil justice system.
In this essay, we describe how Judicial Performance Evaluation programs work, consider what lessons those programs offer for judicial screening and judicial selection in New York, and explain how both the citizens and judges of New York would benefit from an official, comprehensive JPE program.
Two new studies may help federal judges better achieve the objectives of Rule 1 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure—a “just, speedy, and inexpensive” resolution of civil cases.
This article provides a brief overview of the history of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the challenges that have plagued American civil procedure over the past seven decades, and the various approaches that have been employed—often unsuccessfully—to remedy those problems.
This report includes a set of 29 proposed Principles that focus on four core areas: pleadings, discovery, experts and judicial management. It is the culmination of an 18-month collaboration between IAALS and the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and provides recommendations that may one day underpin reform of the civil rules of procedure in both federal and state court systems.
Politicians are supposed to be aligned with an ideology. In contrast, judges must decide each case on its merits, not on the basis of political ideology or a campaign contribution. There are two common methods for selecting judges: elections and merit selection. We have only to look at this past election season to understand how these methods support or undermine the ideal of an impartial American judiciary.
