Jeffrey Stempel
What is the most significant issue facing your field and how should it be addressed?
If one defines my field as Civil Procedure/Dispute Resolution (rather than Insurance or Professional Responsibility where I also do considerable work), my biggest concern is probably the diminished use and impact of the civil jury.
Paradoxically, case law supports a broad theoretical right to a jury as required by the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution but at the same time has increased the power of judges to dispose of a case on motion – often without any significant opportunity for examination of the facts of a dispute – based on the judge’s perception of whether the claims are sufficiently “plausible.” That’s a factual conclusion and facts are supposed to be determined by jurors if there is any genuine dispute.
It’s as if the bench – by which I mean the federal bench (state judges have shown considerably more humility) – has learned nothing from the past 50 years of cognitive research where studies consistently show that human beings overrate their own insight and fail to realize that others may not share their perceptions of a situation. Jury trial provides the opportunity for analysis by a cross-section of the public and deserves greater respect from the bench.
How does your research and scholarship influence your teaching and service and vice versa?
Too often, the scholarship and teaching missions of legal education are viewed as separate and compartmentalized when they are (or should be) integrated and inseparable. Research into even arguably esoteric or unrelated areas enriches a teacher’s understanding of the field and gives the instructor more comprehensive knowledge of the subject taught. More important, perhaps is that research highlights the limitations, unsettled issues, and problems with the law as well as informing teachers of emerging developments in the law. An instructor whose knowledge was limited to only the assigned reading material would, in addition to arguably being superfluous (students can do the reading on their own), provide only a limited and impoverished view of the subject matter. The instructor’s experience as a scholar and practitioner informs greater understanding of the material. Similarly, law faculty service in bar association, pro bono, and public policy activities strengthens the instructor’s competence as a teacher.
When students ask you what they should read outside the required textbooks and other law-related books, what do you suggest?
I will sound like the caricature of an old geek saying this but I find it distressing that (a) newspaper readership has fallen and (b) American education has done a poor job covering relatively recent history. As to the latter: students know about Valley Forge and the dates of the Civil War but often relatively little about events between 1950 and 2000. Although it’s not realistic for law students to find time to re-learn modern history, it is realistic to stay abreast of current events through a reputable newspaper (don’t get me started about Facebook and the abundance of misleading or partisan “news” outlets in cyberspace). Every day, a good newspaper provides countless examples of law in action, including the very topics studied in class, which can reinforce and expand student understanding of classroom and textbook learning.