Abstract
How do jurors accomplish the task of awarding damages in a civil lawsuit? to what extent are they influenced by expert testimony? These questions were addressed in a mock juror simulation in which jurors from El Paso County (Colorado) read one of three versions of a trial manuscript involving an age discrimination claim in which liability was already determined. They awarded damages and answered follow-up questions. In one version, there was no expert testimony; in a second version, they received plaintiff expert testimony on lost future wages and other economic matters; and in the third version, they received both plaintiff and defense expert testimony. Monetary awards were significantly higher when expert(s) testified. Moreover, jurors were strongly influenced by the expert testimony: Nearly half of them selected a damage award that exactly matched the amounts suggested. Finally, jurors infrequently considered exponential calculations in assessing damages.
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This research was supported by a grant from the Law and Social Sciences Program at the National Science Foundation. The paper is based on a master's thesis submitted to the University of Colorado by the first author. We thank Colorado Fourth Judicial District Presiding Judge Donald Campbell, Court Administrator Douglas Haxton, and Jury Commissioner Eldene Mosbarger for allowing us access to jurors and Valerie Stromquist and Alisa Cohen for their research assistance.
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Raitz, A., Greene, E., Goodman, J. et al. Determining damages. Law Hum Behav 14, 385–395 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01068163
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01068163