Civil trials are anomalies in a system built to promote settlement

Evidence

Even when litigants do file civil suits, their cases are far more likely to be settled than adjudicated. Indeed, what unites such reforms of the civil justice system as liberalized rules for discovery, pretrial conferences, and the ADR movement is the emphasis on promoting settlement and discouraging trials. Indeed, trials seem an anomaly, occurring only when the various mechanisms designed to produce a consensual solution have failed. In this respect, the system of civil justice in the United States closely resembles the system of criminal justice, with its emphasis on plea bargaining rather than trial. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1195

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels criminal justice’s plea-bargaining emphasis and directly serves course interest in how the justice system actually operates versus formal doctrine. — connects to: Case management duties drive judges to promote settlements over trials. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 569; Most civil cases are settled rather than adjudicated through trial — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045; Civil settlements happen in the shadow of what a trial would produce — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045 (+15 more)

Broader Connections

• Civil justice reform uniformly pushes settlement so trials become anomalous exceptions #corroborates (0.93) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2384
• Civil settlements happen in the shadow of what a trial would produce #expands (0.92) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045
• Civil cases are typically settled in the shadow of potential trial #expands (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2161
• Dispute systems are designed to push parties toward voluntary settlement. #corroborates (0.90) — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 70
• Trials are rare but structure how nearly all cases get resolved #expands (0.89) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1255
• Trial’s availability as a fallback shapes settlement bargaining in civil cases #expands (0.88) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2162
• Pretrial proceedings, not trials, determine most civil case outcomes #corroborates (0.87) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2200
• Risk and expense of trial drive both sides toward settlement #expands (0.85) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 361
• Settlement and plea bargaining are priced by the anticipated trial outcome #expands (0.84) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1256
• Settlement terms are shaped by predictions about trial outcomes #expands (0.82) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 362
• Case negotiations occur in the shadow of the law set by trial outcomes #qualifies (0.78)
• Active trial judging extends into negotiating pleas and settlements between parties #expands (0.74) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 568