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Saturday Schedule
Program
Annual
Meeting
Home
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Saturday, January 4, 2003
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4:00-5:45 p.m.
Section on Civil Procedure
James E. Pfander, University of Illinois, Chair |
Wilson A
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Mezzanine Level |
Empirical Research and Civil Procedure:
Past, Present and Future
(Program to be published in the Notre Dame Law Review.)
Moderator:
James E. Pfander, University of Illinois
Speakers: - Theodore Eisenberg, Cornell Law School
- Marc S. Galanter, University of Wisconsin
- Valerie Hans, Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
- Brian J. Ostrom, Senior Reseacher, National Center for State Courts, Williamsburg, Virginia
Civil procedure has always had an empirical side. In developing and reviewing rules of procedure, drafters inevitably look to the experience of practitioners with current law and make some prediction about how proposed reforms will influence the behavior of attorneys and clients in future cases. Traditional forms of empirical research include the lawyerly review of the decided cases, for purposes of determining what the courts do in fact, and discussions with judges and practicing lawyers, many of whom weigh in on proposed amendments during the process of drafting and legislative oversight.
As the interdisciplinary move in law works its way through even this most practical domain, civil proceduralists find that empirical work has grown more rigorous, complex and sophisticated, and often draws on information other than the decided cases. Using methods borrowed from the social sciences, empirical researchers use survey research, experimental data, and case studies to develop a richer portrait of practice and procedure in American courts. These new techniques shed light on many aspects of civil practice that anecdote, news story, and even the decided cases may obscure. We know a good deal more about jury practice, punitive damages, and treatment of corporate defendants than we once did, thanks in good measure to empirical research.
This year's panel brings together some of the country's best-known empirical scholars. Apart from presenting new research on civil practice in the American courts, the panelists will introduce their databases, and offer some insights into research design. During the discussion that follows, we will explore some nuts and bolts of empirical research and will consider what directions such work might take in the future.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion
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