Most civil cases are settled rather than adjudicated through trial
Evidence
This is characteristic of the vast majority of civil cases, which are settled rather than adjudicated. Indeed, although not all judges are as active as Judge Weinstein in promoting settlement, most courts have adopted procedures that promote fact finding before trial to encourage the settlement of cases. The negotiations in civil cases occur “in the shadow of the law”; that is, with the understanding that either party can demand a trial if a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached. Thus, the process of civil justice parallels the process of criminal justice in the United States in important respects: the encouragement of negotiated settlements, the prospect of trial should negotiations fail, and the resolution of most cases without trial. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045
Categorization
- DEFINE: Introduces the classic ‘shadow of the law’ concept describing how settlement negotiations occur with trial as backdrop — core course terminology.
- XREF: connects to: Case management duties drive judges to promote settlements over trials. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 569; Civil cases are typically settled in the shadow of potential trial — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2161; Most civil cases are decided during the pretrial phase, not at trial (+13 more)
Broader Connections
- Civil cases are typically settled in the shadow of potential trial
#expands(0.95) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2161 - Most civil cases are decided during the pretrial phase, not at trial
#corroborates(0.90) - Pretrial proceedings, not trials, determine most civil case outcomes
#corroborates(0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2200 - Trials and appeals are rare exceptions to routine case disposition in U.S. courts
#corroborates(0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1601 - Judges resolve far more civil cases through motions than trials do
#corroborates(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1089 - Civil settlements happen in the shadow of what a trial would produce
#expands(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045 - Civil trials are anomalies in a system built to promote settlement
#corroborates(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1195 - Trial’s availability as a fallback shapes settlement bargaining in civil cases
#expands(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2162 - Many civil cases require only judicial ratification, not genuine adjudication of a dispute.
#expands(0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2251