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Uncivil Procedure: How State Court Proceedings Perpetuate Inequality
Lieberman, Hannah
Lieberman, Hannah
Files
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Lieberman_Hannah.pdf
Adobe PDF, 873.59 KB
Abstract
Rules of civil procedure presuppose a level playing field where litigants have structured opportunities to develop and present their claims to a neutral fact finder. In millions of cases-the vast majority processed by state courts today the field is neither level nor fair. Instead, enormous numbers of small dollar value cases are disposed of mechanically, without meaningful adjudication. High-volume state court dockets involve serious asymmetries of power and knowledge, where plaintiffs' lawyers are able to manipulate or short-circuit the rules against unrepresented and generally unsophisticated low-income defendants.