NCJ Number
95299
Journal
Judges Journal Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1984) Pages: 14-19
Date Published
1984
Length
6 pages
Annotation
According to a survey by the American Bar Association Judicial Administration Division, litigators overwhelmingly indicate they want Federal judges to participate in settlement discussions.
Abstract
Moreover, they want settlement judges, not trial judges, to offer explicit assessments of cases and have definite opinions on the best settlement techniques to use. Study information came from 1,771 of the 1,886 lawyers surveyed by mail who had recently litigated matters in four Federal district courts and from telephone interviews with another 115 attorneys. A total of 85 percent wanted Federal judges to be involved in settlement discussions. The specific settlement facilitation tools most likely to be helpful appeared to vary with the type of case involved. Geographic variations were also found. The attorneys said that clients were less likely to accept their lawyers' recommendations in small cases than in large ones. A majority also preferred that the officer involved in settlement discussions not be the judge to whom the case is assigned for trial. In addition, about 10 percent of the respondents felt that no judge should ever take part in settlement discussions. Figures and three reference notes are supplied.