Why do most US lawsuits settle instead of going to trial?
Why do most US lawsuits settle instead of going to trial?
It seems to me like this is just a bribe to shut up about the cause of the lawsuit. It doesn't lead to justice, and is not punitive enough in the case of large corporations.
I find this disgusting and immoral, but maybe I'm getting something wrong..? I hope so.
Please explain to me why this is, I'm getting irrationally angry at the fact that no one goes to trial for anything, including environmental hazards, rape, etc.
Edit: Found a source that details all the good reasons to go to trial instead of settling. Personally, an admission of guilt and real consequences to a misdeed are incomparably more important than a slap on the wrist like a settlement. https://www.askadamskutner.com/personal-injury/dont-settle-outside-of-court/
Edit 2: I see all the replies mentioning time and costs as the biggest reasons. And I get that, rationally. But sometimes people are irrational, I can't believe 90% of lawsuits settle... (actually it's 95% - https://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-percentage-of-lawsuits-settle-before-trial-what-are-some-statistics-on-personal-injury-settlements/ )
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Not so fun fact this was popularized by white sherrifs on freed slaves after the emancipation proclamation because the "free" black people couldn't pay a fine of walking parallel to railroads, selling goods, QUITING A JOB, or whatever other stupid bullshit was pulled. So they were leased out by the state like tools and were often worked harder than when they were slaves because there was no incentive to keep them healthy as the state was charging less than a tenth of what they were "worth" as slaves. Anyway the process of settling continued and is mostly a way to reduce sentencing and cost. I hate this country 🙃
While incarcerated and being forced to work they were still slaves per the 13th amendment.
They were not technically incarcerated (according to the law). They willingly (read: forcably) signed a contract to "work" despite most black folks at the time being unable to read due to laws not allowing anyone to teach them to read. This was before chain gangs existed.