Summary Jury Trial
Encyclopedia
Summary jury trial is an alternative dispute resolution
technique, increasingly being used in civil disputes in the United States
.
It is one of the new forms of dispute resolution being advanced by the regular courts in an effort to reduce docket congestion. In essence, a mock trial is held; a jury is selected and, in some cases, presented with the evidence that would be used at a real trial. In other cases, live evidence is not presented. The parties are required to attend the proceeding and hear the verdict
that the jury brings in. After the jury verdict, the parties are required to once again attempt a settlement before going to a real trial.
. In the normal case, the judge will reach the conclusion that the parties are in a very unrealistic disagreement over the relative merits of the case.
As a reality check, the court will inform the parties of the date and time of the summary jury trial, normally allowing some time for any additional discovery
that may seem appropriate. Often, the parties themselves will ask for the summary jury trial as a mechanism to cause the other side to reassess its case. In fact, there are frequent cases in which both parties ask for the summary jury trial.
The summary jury trial takes place after discovery has been substantially completed and pending motions are resolved. A six member jury is chosen from the ordinary jury panel.
For the summary jury trial, the court will empanel a jury. In a number of cases, courts have seated the juries without explaining that they will only be advisory in nature and that the verdict is non-binding. This obviously has the beneficial effect of producing a jury that is as close as possible to being a "real" jury.
The attorneys
present arguments and summaries but usually call no witnesses. In theory, this dry run gives an indication how a jury is going to deal with the case.
The process of empanelling a "mock jury" has caused some controversy. In the Hume case, the court flatly denied a request by both parties for a summary jury trial on the grounds that it did not have authority to require citizens to serve on a "mock" jury. Usually, this has not been a problem.
In the eyes of the layperson, the summary jury trial proceeds much like a regular trial. The jury is selected by voir dire
without being told that its verdict is non-binding. The clients must attend from the opening statements through summary presentations of evidence and closing arguments. After the verdict, the parties begin an examination of the verdict and the reasons why the jurors reached it. When the parties believe that they understand how their evidence fared in the minds of the jury, they meet and once more attempt to hammer out their differences. Note that at this stage, the proceeding devolves to a rather traditional negotiation session!
In addition, the summary jury trial is a mechanism for forcing parties to hear what an unbiased jury really thinks of their case. All too often, parties in litigation have occasional communications via attorneys, with little or no outside correction or feedback given on the course of their litigation. In the summary jury trial, either the verdict returned will be a "split the difference" type decision, in which the parties will have been given an outline of a settlement, or the verdict will cause one party to worry about its chances at trial. In that event, that party is likely to be much more receptive to settlement offers from the other side.
Another disadvantage of the system is that it affords a "foot dragging party," another opportunity for stalling and delay tactics to wear out the other side. A party that knows it has no real case but refuses to settle will naturally seek every opportunity available to achieve an unexpected success or at least a delay.
In addition, by its nature as a jury centered proceeding, the summary jury trial does not give the parties any useful clues about the outcome of issues of law. If a trial is likely to turn on issues of law, the summary jury trial is of little, if any, value.
There is also a built-in problem with the summary jury trial's nature as an adversarial proceeding. Since it is likely that one party will "win" the summary trial and one party will "lose," the parties may find themselves with a slightly different balance of power after the trial but as far apart as ever. The party that "wins" the summary jury trial is unlikely to gain very much motivation to settle and might even become less willing to settle.
Dispute resolution
Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties.-Methods:Methods of dispute resolution include:* lawsuits * arbitration* collaborative law* mediation* conciliation* many types of negotiation* facilitation...
technique, increasingly being used in civil disputes in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It is one of the new forms of dispute resolution being advanced by the regular courts in an effort to reduce docket congestion. In essence, a mock trial is held; a jury is selected and, in some cases, presented with the evidence that would be used at a real trial. In other cases, live evidence is not presented. The parties are required to attend the proceeding and hear the verdict
Verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. The term, from the Latin veredictum, literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman: a compound of ver and dit In law, a verdict...
that the jury brings in. After the jury verdict, the parties are required to once again attempt a settlement before going to a real trial.
Rationale
The theory is that hearing the actual judgment rendered will cause one party or the other to become more amenable to a reasoned settlement. It may also satisfy the desire of one or more of the parties to have their day in court and have their case heard by an impartial jury.Process of the Summary Jury Trial
The summary jury trial, when ordered by the courts, occurs as a break from regulars litigation. The courts have found their power to do this under Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil ProcedureFederal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then the United States Congress has 7 months to veto the rules promulgated or they become part of the...
. In the normal case, the judge will reach the conclusion that the parties are in a very unrealistic disagreement over the relative merits of the case.
As a reality check, the court will inform the parties of the date and time of the summary jury trial, normally allowing some time for any additional discovery
Discovery (law)
In U.S.law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the opposing party by means of discovery devices including requests for answers to interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for...
that may seem appropriate. Often, the parties themselves will ask for the summary jury trial as a mechanism to cause the other side to reassess its case. In fact, there are frequent cases in which both parties ask for the summary jury trial.
The summary jury trial takes place after discovery has been substantially completed and pending motions are resolved. A six member jury is chosen from the ordinary jury panel.
For the summary jury trial, the court will empanel a jury. In a number of cases, courts have seated the juries without explaining that they will only be advisory in nature and that the verdict is non-binding. This obviously has the beneficial effect of producing a jury that is as close as possible to being a "real" jury.
The attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
present arguments and summaries but usually call no witnesses. In theory, this dry run gives an indication how a jury is going to deal with the case.
Problems
Occasionally, the opposite problem occurs and a party refuses to participate in the summary jury trial process. The response of the courts has varied, depending upon the nature of the case and the reasons for the desire to avoid the summary jury trial process. Courts have been comfortable in putting judicial economy first in cases in which parties seek to avoid the "dash of cold water" afforded by the jury verdict. On the other hand, courts have also allowed parties to refuse participation in the process when it might jeopardize the parties' normal litigation. Since the aim of a summary jury trial is to promote settlement negotiations, there would seem to be little point in dragging a party into a situation in which they might withhold their best efforts and thus bias the verdict brought back.The process of empanelling a "mock jury" has caused some controversy. In the Hume case, the court flatly denied a request by both parties for a summary jury trial on the grounds that it did not have authority to require citizens to serve on a "mock" jury. Usually, this has not been a problem.
In the eyes of the layperson, the summary jury trial proceeds much like a regular trial. The jury is selected by voir dire
Voir dire
Voir dire is a phrase in law which comes from the Anglo-Norman language. In origin it refers to an oath to tell the truth , i.e., to say what is true, what is objectively accurate or subjectively honest, or both....
without being told that its verdict is non-binding. The clients must attend from the opening statements through summary presentations of evidence and closing arguments. After the verdict, the parties begin an examination of the verdict and the reasons why the jurors reached it. When the parties believe that they understand how their evidence fared in the minds of the jury, they meet and once more attempt to hammer out their differences. Note that at this stage, the proceeding devolves to a rather traditional negotiation session!
Advantages of the Summary Jury Trial
The major advantages of the summary jury trial are simply the savings for all concerned if it is successful in prompting a settlement. If the parties reach a settlement, they may save time in conducting discovery and presenting motions and, of course, in conducting the trial. And the appeal process is also avoided.In addition, the summary jury trial is a mechanism for forcing parties to hear what an unbiased jury really thinks of their case. All too often, parties in litigation have occasional communications via attorneys, with little or no outside correction or feedback given on the course of their litigation. In the summary jury trial, either the verdict returned will be a "split the difference" type decision, in which the parties will have been given an outline of a settlement, or the verdict will cause one party to worry about its chances at trial. In that event, that party is likely to be much more receptive to settlement offers from the other side.
Disadvantages of the Summary Jury Trial
However, there are a number of disadvantages to the summary jury trial. The summary jury trial exposes one party to an earlier "dry run" of the points of the other side. Many disputants may not wish to prejudice their cases in this manner. Also, summary jury trials are not particularly simple; they are quick and cheap only when compared to traditional litigation. By the time the summary jury trial takes place, the parties have engaged in much discovery have already incurred many costs.Another disadvantage of the system is that it affords a "foot dragging party," another opportunity for stalling and delay tactics to wear out the other side. A party that knows it has no real case but refuses to settle will naturally seek every opportunity available to achieve an unexpected success or at least a delay.
In addition, by its nature as a jury centered proceeding, the summary jury trial does not give the parties any useful clues about the outcome of issues of law. If a trial is likely to turn on issues of law, the summary jury trial is of little, if any, value.
There is also a built-in problem with the summary jury trial's nature as an adversarial proceeding. Since it is likely that one party will "win" the summary trial and one party will "lose," the parties may find themselves with a slightly different balance of power after the trial but as far apart as ever. The party that "wins" the summary jury trial is unlikely to gain very much motivation to settle and might even become less willing to settle.