*Legal Studies & Paralegal Studies | Program Guide: Civil Law

"The most decisive negotiation in product cases occurs between scientific experts and attorneys on the same side. Each must manage their own conflicting professional interests. By the time the general public sees it, such cases have undergone countless revisions, radical shifts in nature, and corresponding shifts in the roles and relative dominance of the players. Prichard's work provides fresh evidence that science and law are antagonistic yet mutually constituting institutions." (2005)

"Baude uses frank, understandable language to explain the relationship between the Constitution and our rule of law. Without technical jurisdictional jargon, Baude is able to survey historical cases to analyze Article III, section 2 of the United States Constitution. This work explores the relationship between the two, without drawing on the covert ideological premises of legal liberalism." (2007)

"Legal Blame sheds new light on how jurors interpret justice in the wake of accidents. It also reveals much about the psychology of jury decision making in general. Using case material, the author analyzes both the words lawyers use to help jurors assign blame and the words jurors themselves use as they make decisions. With minimal use of jargon, the author discusses the relevant social and cognitive literature and shows how jurors' everyday habits of thought and feeling inform their deliberations." (2000)

"Over the past two decades, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in the number and magnitude of punitive damages verdicts rendered by juries in civil trials. But how do juries actually make decisions about punitive damages? To find out, the authors-specialists in psychology, economics, and the law-present the results of controlled experiments with over 600 mock juries involving the responses of more than 8,000 jury-eligible citizens." (2010)

"How are juries selected in the United States? What forces influence juries in making their decisions? Are some cases simply beyond the ability of juries to decide? How useful is the entire jury system? In this important and accessible book, a prominent expert on constitutional law examines these and other issues concerning the American jury system." (2003)

"The Juror Factor examines how jurors reach their verdicts in complex civil trials. In particular, the book explores the relationship between juror factors--that is, jurors' race, gender, income, education and personal beliefs--and verdicts. While most research has found no link between verdicts and juror factors, this book, using new, previously unavailable data, argues that the composition of a jury can have a strong effect on the outcome of a trial." (2008)

"In its roughly 25 years of existence, the trial consulting profession has grown dramatically in membership, recognition, and breadth of practice. Trial Consulting takes an in-depth look at the primary activities of trial consultants, including witness preparation, focus groups and mock trials, jury selection, change of venue surveys, and attorney presentation style. It also examines the profession's struggle to define itself, resisting certification and licensure requirements and settling instead for a set of practice standards." (2005)