In Part One, I described the pre-trial stages of a Lawsuit, including Pleadings, Discovery and Motion for Summary Judgment.  In Part Two, you will learn about both the Arbitration and Trial Stages of a Lawsuit. 

Arbitration

In Pennsylvania, if the plaintiff is seeking money damages of less than $50,000, the Lawsuit proceeds to mandatory Arbitration, rather than directly to Trial in front of a judge or jury.  The procedure involved in an Arbitration is similar to that of a Trial.  An Arbitration includes Opening Statements, Testimony and Evidence and Closing Arguments.  However, a panel of three local attorneys, rather than a judge or jury, decides the outcome of the case.  After the Arbitrators rule, either party can appeal the decision and the case proceeds to Trial in front of a judge or jury.

Trial

Both appeals from Arbitration and cases in which the Plaintiff seeks more than $50,000 result in Trials.  Depending on the preference of the parties, the Trial can be decided by a judge or a jury.  There are generally six phases of a jury Trial:  (1) Jury Selection; (2) Opening Statements; (3) Testimony and Evidence; (4) Closing Arguments; (5) Jury Charge; and (6) Verdict.

In a jury Trial, the first phase of the Trial begins with Jury Selection.  A pool of jurors, usually about 50 is brought into the courtroom and each juror has a number, from 1 to 50.  Then, the attorneys or the judge question the jurors to determine whether they know any of the parties, attorneys or witnesses or whether they have had and experiences or have any strong feelings on certain issues which would not allow them to be unbiased and fair in deciding the case.  Once the questioning is completed, each attorney can ask that specific jurors be stricken from the pool due to some disclosed bias or prejudice.   After the judge rules on these “for cause” challenges, each party can also strike a set number of jurors, usually about 4, who they think will likely favor the other side.  These are called “peremptory strikes.”  Once the strikes are completed, the first 12 remaining jurors constitute the jury panel for the Trial.  

After jury selection, Opening Statements are presented to the jury.  The Plaintiff’s Opening Statement comes first and is intended to give the jury a “roadmap” for the trial - to describe to the jury what the Plaintiff intends to prove.  Normally, the facts of the case are outlined and the witnesses and important evidence are discussed.  Argument is not permitted in the Opening Statement.  The Defendant can decide to give an Opening Statement or defer the statement until after the Plaintiff presents its Testimony and Evidence.  

After Opening Statements, the parties present their Testimony and Evidence.  The Plaintiff goes first by calling witnesses to testify and offering exhibits into evidence.  Each witness may be cross-examined by the defense.  Next the Defendant may call witnesses and introduce evidence to support its defenses.  The Defense witnesses are cross-examined by the Plaintiff’s attorney.  Thereafter, the Plaintiff my present witnesses or evidence in rebuttal to the Defendant’s case.  

Once all testimony is complete, the attorneys deliver Closing Arguments.  During the Closing Arguments, the attorneys are able to argue why the facts and the applicable law should lead to a verdict in their favor.  Plaintiff’s attorney goes first.  After that, the Defense attorney presents a Closing Argument.  Finally, the Plaintiff’s attorney presents a brief rebuttal argument.

After Closing Arguments, the judge must give the jury instructions on the law applicable to the case, which is called the Jury Charge.  

After the Jury Charge, the jury deliberates and reaches its Verdict.  The jury Verdict marks the conclusion of the Trial.

When a case is tried to just a judge, rather than a jury (a Bench Trial), the procedure is basically the same except there is no Jury Selection, Jury Charge or Verdict.  Usually, at the end of the Trial, the judge will take additional time to consider the evidence and prepare a written decision.   

Tim Rayne, Esquire - MacElree Harvey, Ltd. 211 E. State Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348   (610) 840-0124   trayne@macelree.com

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Anatomy of a Lawsuit, Civil Litigation. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.