Article

Jury Nullification in Modified Comparative Negligence Regimes

Eli K. Best

Law Clerk for the Honorable Shirley S. Abrahamson, Wisconsin Supreme Court

Thanks to my sister, Rachel Best, for valuable suggestions and assistance. Thanks also to Crystal Huang and Kelly Murdock for excellent assistance with the quantitative analysis.

John J. Donohue III

C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law, Stanford Law School

This Article analyzes jury findings from nearly one thousand negligence suits to determine whether juries in modified comparative negligence jurisdictions apportion percentages of negligence differently than juries in pure comparative negligence jurisdictions. We find that juries in modified comparative negligence jurisdictions are substantially less likely to find that a plaintiff was more than 50 percent negligent. This evidence of jury manipulation strengthens the case for pure comparative negligence, which we argue is already superior on theoretical and policy grounds.

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