A judge’s settlement suggestion can double as a signal of likely verdict
Evidence
The trial lasted eight days. Schlichtmann sat at the counsel table with Kathy Boyer. Clem McCarthy objected constantly on procedural grounds: “Lack of foundation, hearsay, leading question, irrelevant.” Judge Peter Brady would summon Schlichtmann to the bench and explain the rudiments of trial technique. The judge was a patient man, and he was also impressed by the work Schlichtmann had put into the case. On the last day of trial the judge called both the lawyers to the bench. “I think somebody’s going to get hurt here,” he said. “My sense is that you should settle this case.” He looked at Clem McCarthy, “I think seventy-five thousand dollars is fair.” — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 253
Categorization
- QUESTION: Is the bench’s off-record ‘sense’ of a fair number understood by lawyers as a floor for what a jury will award? Worth chasing how that informal signal actually functions.
- XREF: connects to: Settlement and plea bargaining are priced by the anticipated trial outcome — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1256; Settlement terms are shaped by predictions about trial outcomes — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 362; Active trial judging extends into negotiating pleas and settlements between parties — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 568 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Settlement terms are shaped by predictions about trial outcomes
#corroborates(0.90) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 362 - Settlement and plea bargaining are priced by the anticipated trial outcome
#corroborates(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1256 - Case negotiations occur in the shadow of the law set by trial outcomes
#corroborates(0.85) - Active trial judging extends into negotiating pleas and settlements between parties
#expands(0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 568 - Judicial endorsement makes attorneys and clients more likely to accept settlements.
#expands(0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2250