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Statistical evidence and the problem of robust litigation
Author(s) -
Bull Jesse,
Watson Joel
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the rand journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.687
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1756-2171
pISSN - 0741-6261
DOI - 10.1111/1756-2171.12302
Subject(s) - scope (computer science) , context (archaeology) , value (mathematics) , interpretation (philosophy) , private information retrieval , empirical evidence , face value , statistical evidence , face (sociological concept) , value of information , computer science , economics , law and economics , econometrics , artificial intelligence , epistemology , computer security , machine learning , sociology , paleontology , biology , programming language , social science , finance , philosophy , null hypothesis
We propose a new model of disclosure, interpretation, and management of hard evidence in the context of litigation and similar applications. A litigant has private information and may also possess hard evidence that can be disclosed to a fact‐finder, who interprets the evidence and decides a finding in the case. We identify conditions under which hard evidence generates value that is robust to the scope of rational reasoning and behavior. These fail if the litigant's private information is sufficiently strong relative to the “face‐value signal” of evidence, and then hard evidence may be misleading. Rules that exclude some relevant hard evidence can be justified.