Abstract
In this paper we consider the relationship between the media and the outcome of civil litigation. We present a model dividing lawsuits into two main stages: a signaling stage and a rent-seeking contest. During the first stage the judge is exposed to signals regarding the true position of the defendant, and in addition pays attention to signals reported by the media. The judge forms an initial prejudice towards the plaintiff and the defendant based on the ratio between the true merit of the case and the burden of proof required to establish the plaintiff's claim (the preponderance of the evidence). Then, we turn to the second stage and provide the plaintiff and the defendant with an opportunity to invest resources in order to influence their winning probabilities. We show how the media can influence the process with biased reports.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 539-571 |
| Number of pages | 33 |
| Journal | Review of Law and Economics |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:* We are grateful to the participants of the CESifo 1st conference on Law and Economics and to the participants of the 2010 EPCS conference for very useful comments and suggestions. We are grateful to the referees for their constructive and useful comments. We wish to thank Ori Aronson for his helpful comments and the endless discussions of the topic which were very helpful. Financial support from the Adar Foundation of the Economics Department of Bar-Ilan University is gratefully acknowledged. The paper is based on a Ph.D. thesis that was carried out at Bar-Ilan University by Renana Lindner Pomerantz.
Funding
* We are grateful to the participants of the CESifo 1st conference on Law and Economics and to the participants of the 2010 EPCS conference for very useful comments and suggestions. We are grateful to the referees for their constructive and useful comments. We wish to thank Ori Aronson for his helpful comments and the endless discussions of the topic which were very helpful. Financial support from the Adar Foundation of the Economics Department of Bar-Ilan University is gratefully acknowledged. The paper is based on a Ph.D. thesis that was carried out at Bar-Ilan University by Renana Lindner Pomerantz.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Adar Foundation of the Economics Department of Bar-Ilan University |