Pretrial proceedings, not trials, determine most civil case outcomes

Evidence

Because most civil cases are resolved before trial, what occurs during the pretrial phase of litigation is vitally important. The pretrial phase serves to identify the applicable law, define the legal issues, and promote the discovery of factual information pertinent to the case. The four major steps during the pretrial phase are (1) pleadings, (2) discovery, (3) motions, and (4) pretrial conference. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2200

Categorization

• DEFINE: Enumerates the four pretrial steps — pleadings, discovery, motions, pretrial conference — and their three functions.
• XREF: Counters the popular trial-centric picture of adjudication; pairs with any source on settlement rates and vanishing trials. — connects to: Most civil cases are settled rather than adjudicated through trial — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045; Judges resolve far more civil cases through motions than trials do — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1089; Pretrial conferences let judges shape cases before trial — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1090 (+13 more)

Broader Connections

• Most civil cases are decided during the pretrial phase, not at trial #corroborates (1.00)
• Civil cases are typically settled in the shadow of potential trial #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2161
• Civil settlements happen in the shadow of what a trial would produce #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045
• Litigation selects for fringe and hard cases, not representative legal disputes #complicates (0.90) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 38
• Complexity can render some civil cases constitutionally unsuitable for jury trial #complicates (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1435
• Trial’s availability as a fallback shapes settlement bargaining in civil cases #complicates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2162
• Judge attributes beyond the law shape judicial outcomes #complicates (0.85) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 746
• Case negotiations occur in the shadow of the law set by trial outcomes #complicates (0.80)
• Stated precedent rules often fail to determine later case outcomes #complicates (0.80) — Burton, Steven J, An Introduction to Law and Legal…, 216