Coase-Sandor Working Paper Series in Law and Economics
Publication Date
2010
Publication Title
Law & Economics Working Papers
Abstract
We exploit a new data set of judicial rulings on motions in order to investigate the relationship between judicial ability and judicial outcomes. The data set consists of federal district judges' rulings on motions to dismiss, to approve the lead plaintiff, and to approve attorneys' fees in securities class actions cases, and also judges' decisions to remove themselves from cases. We predict that higher-quality judges, as measured by citations, affirmance rates, and similar criteria, are more likely to dismiss cases, reject lead plaintiffs, reject attorneys' fees, and retain cases rather than hand them over to other judges. Our results are mixed, providing some but limited evidence for the hypotheses.
Number
519
Recommended Citation
Eric Posner, Stephen J. Choi & G. Mitu Gulati, "Judicial Ability and Securities Class Actions" (John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics Working Paper No. 519, 2010).
Additional Information
Chicago Unbound includes both works in progress and final versions of articles. Please be aware that a more recent version of this article may be available on Chicago Unbound, SSRN or elsewhere.