Title
Plaintiphobia in the Appellate Courts: Civil Rights Really Do Differ from Negotiable Instruments
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2002
Keywords
Federal courts, Appellate courts, Appeals, Plaintiffs
Disciplines
Civil Procedure | Civil Rights and Discrimination | Courts | Litigation
Abstract
Professors Clermont and Eisenberg conducted a systematic analysis of appellate court behavior and report that defendants have a substantial advantage over plaintiffs on appeal. Their analysis attempted to control for different variables that may affect the decision to appeal or the appellate outcome, including case complexity, case type, amount in controversy, and whether there had been a judge or a jury trial. Once they accounted for these variables and explored and discarded various alternate explanations, they came to the conclusion that a defendants' advantage exists probably because of appellate judges' misperceptions that trial level adjudicators are pro-plaintiff.
Recommended Citation
Clermont, Kevin M. and Eisenberg, Theodore, "Plaintiphobia in the Appellate Courts: Civil Rights Really Do Differ from Negotiable Instruments" (2002). Cornell Law Faculty Publications. 220.
https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/facpub/220
Publication Citation
Published in: University of Illinois Law Review, vol. 2002, no. 4 (2002).
Included in
Civil Procedure Commons, Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Courts Commons, Litigation Commons