Arbitration & Mediation

You Think That Jury Will Do Right by You? Think Again.

By Christopher Annunziata

In the case the upcoming article in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies did not convince you that you are usually better off negotiating a resolution of your dispute (whether with the help of a mediator or not), legal blog Swordplay lists 10 Acts of Lunacy by Jurors that might make you think twice about turning your case over to those twelve people in the box.

I will admit that as a bit of an idealist (and someone who never “lost”* a trial), I thought that once they took the oath juries tended to pay attention and in the end, did the right thing, but some of these examples take the cake.

*A bit of clarification may be necessary here.  I was clearly not Gerry Spence or Perry Mason.  When I was practicing, and defending insured persons (mainly motorists) from personal injury claims, a trail was commonly considered a “win” if the jury awarded the plaintiff damages that were less than the last amount you offered to settle.  Using this measure, I never truly lost a case, even though juries ruled against my client.

Full post as published by CKA Mediation and Arbitration Services Blog on August 22, 2008 (boomark / email).