Punitive Damages

by Sunstein, Cass R.; Hastie, Reid; Payne, John W.; Schkade, David A.; Viscusi, W. Kip; Sunstein, Cass R.

• ISBN13: 9780226780146
• ISBN10: 0226780147
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-04-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Over the past two decades, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in the number and magnitude of punitive damages verdicts rendered by juries in civil trials. But how do juries actually make decisions about punitive damages? To find out, the authors-specialists in psychology, economics, and the law-present the results of controlled experiments with over 600 mock juries involving the responses of more than 8,000 jury-eligible citizens.

Author Biography

Cass R. Sunstein is the Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Jurisprudence in the Law School and the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago.

Reid Hastie is a professor of behavioral science in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago.

John W. Payne is the Joseph J. Ruvane Jr. Professor of Management, professor of psychology, and research professor of statistics and decision sciences at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

David A. Schkade is the Herbert D. Kelleher Regents Professor of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

W. Kip Viscusi is the John F. Cogan Jr. Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction The Problem and Efforts to Understand It	1	(16)
George L. Priest
Overview: What We Did and What We Found	17	(14)
Reid Hastie
Part I: How Juries Think
A From Outrage to Dollars
Introduction	29	(2)
Cass R. Sunstein
Shared Outrage, Erratic Awards	31	(12)
Daniel Kahneman
David A. Schkade
Cass R. Sunstein
Deliberating about Dollars: The Severity Shift	43	(19)
David A: Schkade
Cass R. Sunstein
Daniel Kahneman
Do Plaintiffs' Requests and Plaintiffs' Identities Matter?	62	(15)
Reid Hastie
David A. Schkade
John W. Payne
B To Punish or Not?
Introduction	75	(2)
Cass R. Sunstein
Judging Corporate Recklessness	77	(19)
Reid Hastie
David A. Schkade
John W. Payne
Looking Backward in Punitive Judgments: 20-20 Vision?	96	(16)
Reid Hastie
David A. Schkade
John W. Payne
C Jurors and Judges as Risk Managers
Introduction	109	(3)
Cass R. Sunstein
Corporate Risk Analysis: A Reckless Act?	112	(20)
W. Kip Viscusi
Do People Want Optimal Deterrence?	132	(10)
Cass R. Sunstein
David A. Schkade
Daniel Kahneman
Deterrence Instructions: What Jurors Won't Do	142	(29)
W. Kip Viscusi
Judging Risk and Recklessness	171	(15)
W. Kip Viscusi
Do Judges Do Better?	186	(25)
W. Kip Viscusi
Part II: Conclusions
Putting It All Together	211	(31)
Reid Hastie
What Should Be Done?	242	(17)
Cass R. Sunstein
Appendix: Judge's Instructions	259	(2)
Glossary	261	(6)
Bibliography	267	(10)
List of Contributors	277	(2)
Index	279