Lecture 4 DECISION STAGE Preponderance of evidence aka clear and convincing vs beyond reasonable doubt Verdict judgment Judgment notwithstanding verdict State JNOV judge overrules jury to adverse or amend a verdict o Appropriate only if judge finds that no reasonable jury could have come to that decision o Ex Complete lack of evidence on a case but jury still finds defendant guilty extreme circumstances o In a criminal cade a judge can NEVER switch a verdict to guilty Judgment as a matter of law Federal JMOL o Rarely used to question a jury o One of the parties can actually submit a motion before the case goes to the jury o Used before it goes to the jury POST TRIAL PHASE Losing party has right to appeal correct harmful errors in question of law Appeals court rarely gets involved clearly erroneous Legal inquiries Appellant appealing party and Appellee prevailing party in original litigation Trial stage vs Appellate stage Deference to trial courts Briefs submitted by the parties and oral arguments in appeals stage Usually have three judges panel ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ADR s High to Low Cost o Litigation Focus Groups Arbitration Mediation Negotiated Settlements Ease burden on courts steer away from harming relationships ARBITRATION Clause shown says I forfeit my rights to sue the company in court and says you wont have a jury trial Third party arbitrator takes place of judge and jury Substitutes litigation Arbitrator should be neutral impartial expert arbitrators faster streamlined procedures with limited discovery and higher degree of privacy Most common ADR option Submission to arbitration agree to dissolve disputes vs mandatory Labor disputes disputes between companies forced to do arbitration pursuant to arbitration clause Arbitration clause set rules for arbitration o Other features expertise of arbitrators scope of authority review situs language Courts favor award and authority or arbitrators o Give deference to arbitration Final and enforceable by courts o Is the difference between arbitration and other ADR s similar to litigation Federal arbitration act supports practice of arbitration o Overrides state legislation o Reinforces arbitration by putting the burden on the party claiming they didn t mean to do arbitration o Liberally interpreted o Legally obligating courts to assume arbitration was intended Pre dispute vs post dispute arbitration agreements two ways of agreeing to arbitration o Pre before court o Post didn t set arbitration and about to go to court Arbitration clauses liberally interpreted Review of statutorily mandated arbitration labor disputes MEDIATION Mediator assists parties in resolving differences Mediation vs arbitration o Less formal o Cheaper o More efficient if it leads you to a settlement o Not binding o No specific rules about discovery o Disadvantages if mediation doesn t produce a settlement you re not closer to settlement than before Lack of formality makes parties less fore coming o Pre vs post dispute mediation agreements Pre dispute mediation usually in contract Before the parties can initiate proceedings in a court of law the parties must first bring together certain executives and initiate a good attempt to resolve the disputes through mediation o Court mandated mediation o The mediator Popularity of Mediation o Parties retain control of process o Cheaper most efficient customized o Minimal role of court system o Can choose mediator but its hard to agree on one mediator Mediation vs Arbitration Judicial review Issue specific mediation Med Arb hybrid Mediation is precursor to arbitration Almost never will you see arbitration then litigation NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT Find mutually agreeable solution for parties Customizable cheap Trying to find a lose lose or win win for everyone NY Times Article 1 Appeals court rules people cant be excluded from juries because of their sexual orientation 2 Appeal panel usually three was unanimous 3 Peremptory strike removing people from juries 4 Opposed with US vs Windsor which shot down the federal Defense Marriage Act 5 Cannot exclude people from a jury because of race gender sexual orientation preference 6 14th amendment unconstitutionality US attorney general Eric Holder Elected State s attorney Apple vs Samsung CEOs agree to mediation over Patent Dispute since 2011