Misjudging: Implications for Dispute Resolution

Abstract

In the lead symposium article, Chris Guthrie describes recent research demonstrating empirically that judges, just like other people, are affected by cognitive, informational and attitudinal blinders. He argues that these blinders promote inaccurate trial outcomes and, as a result, disputants might find trials less desirable for resolving disputes. In her response, Shestowsky argues that these findings might not affect disputants in the way that Guthrie supposes because disputants are not primarily guided by outcome accuracy considerations when evaluating dispute resolution procedures. Rather, when choosing procedures, they prefer ones that they expect to deliver outcomes that will advance their self-interests. When evaluating procedures after they have experienced them, they are similarly not focused on outcome accuracy; in fact, they focus more on process (i.e., how they were treated). Shestowsky proposes some alternative implications of judicial blinders for the dispute resolution context.