NCJ Number
101383
Date Published
1986
Length
109 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews with 25 Federal judges who advocate judicial pretrial settlements and on a review of the scholarly literature, this book examines premises, methods, and applications of pretrial settlement options available to judges.
Abstract
It notes that judges favor having a managerial role in pretrial settlement efforts. This role includes a judge's distinguishing which cases need judicial assistance toward a pretrial settlement, selecting an appropriate settlement procedure, and determining when to take judicial action to promote settlement. In one judicial pretrial settlement option, the court-ordered settlement conference, judges can compel lawyers and their clients to participate in settlement discussions, but they cannot require that a settlement be reached and they should not become involved in setting the terms of the settlement. Lawyers tend to favor judge-hosted conferences with the judge offering suggestions and observations. Evidence indicates that such conferences enhance settlement rates. Other settlement mechanisms are court-annexed arbitration, attorney-conducted mediation, summary jury trial, and minitrials in which the trial judge has an active role. The future of pretrial settlements, it is concluded, depends on the dissemination of settlement-oriented innovations among courts and judicial adjustment to new roles in the settlement process. The appendix includes a sample analytic grid for evaluating techniques of judicial settlement involvement.