In some jurisdictions, there are "pretrial conferences," where the judge con-

fers with the opposing lawyers to settle the case or at least to define the issues before trial. Observational data suggest that pretrial conferences promote set-

tlements and speed up trials, but there were doubts.

In New Jersey courts, pretrial conferences were mandatory. However, an ex-

periment was done in 7 counties. During a six-month period, 2,954 personal injury cases (mainly automobile accidents) were assigned at random to treat-

ment or control. For the 1,495 control cases (group A), pretrial conferences remained mandatory. For the 1,459 treatment cases, the conferences were made optional—either lawyer could request one. Among the treatment cases, 701 opted for a pretrial conference (group C), and 758 did not (group B).

The investigator who analyzed the data looked to see whether pretrial confer-

ences encouraged cases to settle before reaching trial; or, if they went to trial, whether the conferences shortened the amount of trial time. (This matters, because trial time is very expensive.)

The investigator reported the main results as follows; tabular material is quoted from his report.9 P-698