Summary Jury Trials
There are those cases that – despite everyone’s best efforts – won’t settle at mediation. In recent years we have been experimenting with a new and innovative dispute resolution technique – the summary jury trial.
What is an SJT?
Summary jury trials are conducted in a real courtroom, using real jurors from the central jury pool, and a presiding neutral.
The case is presented to the jury in a summarized format, usually in an hour or two per side. The jury deliberates and returns a verdict on the same day. The SJT is usually followed that evening, or the next day, by mediation. Success rates in these mediations are startling.
What cases are candidates for an SJT?
These are the usual criteria: a case needs to have been unsuccessfully mediated, be on the eve of trial, a case that will take at least one week to try, and not settled due to a disparity in the evaluations of liability and/or damages.
Will Pryor has experience in coordinating, facilitating, and presiding over a dozen summary jury trials.
Commonly Used Summary Jury Trials Forms:
