Juries, Judges, and Punitive Damages: Empirical Analyses Using the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts 1992, 1996, and 2001 Data

Heise, Michael; Eisenberg, Theodore; Wells, Martin T.; Hannaford-Agor, Paula; LaFountain, Neil; Munsterman, G. Thomas; Ostrom, Brian

doi:10.2139/ssrn.722421

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Juries, Judges, and Punitive Damages: Empirical Analyses Using the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts 1992, 1996, and 2001 Data

Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 263-95, 2006

Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 05-015

33 Pages Posted: 27 Jun 2006

See all articles by Michael Heise

Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell University, Law School (Deceased)

We analyze thousands of trials from a substantial fraction of the nation's most populous counties. Evidence across ten years and three major datasets suggests that: (1) juries and judges award punitive damages in approximately the same ratio to compensatory damages, (2) the level of punitive damages awards has not increased, and (3) juries' and judges' tendencies to award punitive damages differ in bodily injury and no-bodily-injury cases. Jury trials are associated with a greater rate of punitive damages awards in financial injury cases. Judge trials are associated with a greater rate of punitive damages awards in bodily injury cases.

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Heise, Michael and Eisenberg, Theodore and Wells, Martin T. and Hannaford-Agor, Paula and LaFountain, Neil and Munsterman, G. Thomas and Ostrom, Brian, Juries, Judges, and Punitive Damages: Empirical Analyses Using the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts 1992, 1996, and 2001 Data. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 263-95, 2006, Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 05-015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=912309 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.722421