To Dollars from Sense: Qualitative to Quantitative Translation in Jury Damage Awards

42 Pages Posted: 4 Jul 2011 Last revised: 4 Oct 2011

See all articles by Valerie P. Hans

Valerie P. Hans

Cornell University - School of Law

Valerie F. Reyna

Cornell University

Date Written: July 1, 2011

Abstract

This article offers a new multi-stage account of jury damage award decision making. Drawing on psychological and economic research on judgment, decision making, and numeracy, the model posits that jurors first make a categorical gist judgment that money damages are warranted, and then make an ordinal gist judgment ranking the damages deserved as low, medium, or high. They then construct numbers that fit the gist of the appropriate magnitude. The article employs data from jury decision making research to explore the plausibility of the model.

Keywords: juror, jury, damage awards, compensatory damages, punitive damages, decision making

Suggested Citation

Hans, Valerie P. and Reyna, Valerie F., To Dollars from Sense: Qualitative to Quantitative Translation in Jury Damage Awards (July 1, 2011). Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-25, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1876667 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1876667

Valerie P. Hans (Contact Author)

Cornell University - School of Law ( email )

Myron Taylor Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-4901
United States
607-255-0095 (Phone)

Valerie F. Reyna

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

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