Abstract
In 2021, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) obtained grant funding from State Justice Institute to undertake a retrospective study of the Utah civil justice reforms. The new study replicated some of the analyses from the 2015 study to compare case characteristics and outcomes against the post-implementation data extracted for the 2015 study. In addition to examining the impact on case characteristics and outcomes, an objective of the new study was to examine the impact of the Rule 26 revisions on practitioner behavior, which is less easily captured in case filings. To do so, NCSC convened a project advisory committee to help identify issues to explore and conducted focus groups with judges and lawyers. Those insights were incorporated in a survey distributed to attorneys who had filed civil cases in the district courts to test assertions about practitioner behavior in response to the changes. This report summarizes the data and methods employed in this retrospective study, key findings, and conclusions and recommendations for court leadership in Utah and in other states continuing to implement civil justice reforms.
This abstract has been taken from the authors' introduction.
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2-2025
Publication Information
National Center for State Courts (February 2025)
Repository Citation
Hannaford-Agor, Paula and Hamilton, Miriam, "The Longer-term Impact of Civil Justice Reform: A 10-Year Retrospective on Utah Civil Discovery Reform" (2025). Faculty Publications. 2369.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/2369