Released on: September 10, 2008, 1:51 pm

Press Release Author: Angel Reyes

Industry: Law

Press Release Summary: DALLAS – A study from the Texas Tech University Rawls College
of Business™ indicates that English-speaking Hispanic plaintiffs experience better
results in civil lawsuits than their non-English-speaking counterparts.

Press Release Body: DALLAS – A study from the Texas Tech University Rawls College of
Business™ indicates that English-speaking Hispanic plaintiffs experience better
results in civil lawsuits than their non-English-speaking counterparts.

The study, presented in a paper by Dallas attorney Angel Reyes and Texas Tech
professors Bradley T. Ewing, Ph.D. and James C. Wetherbe, Ph.D., is based on the
outcomes of more than 200 personal injury verdicts between 1996 and 2007. In
examining the cases, the authors sought to determine whether any contributing factor
could be linked to jury verdicts where the amounts awarded were significantly less
than what plaintiffs were offered in out-of-court settlements.

While other recent research has shown that jury verdicts rarely exceed the last
settlement offer, the results of the Reyes-Ewing-Wetherbe study indicate that
Hispanic plaintiffs who relied on an interpreter during testimony were 15 percent
less likely than an English speaker to obtain a jury verdict that exceeded the last
settlement offer.

“What this study shows is that while Lady Justice is blindfolded, she certainly is
not deaf,” says Mr. Reyes, co-author of the study. “This study raises profound
questions not only about the right to a fair jury trial, which is one of the
foundations of our Constitution, but also the economic and social impact presented
by language differences in our legal system.”

The Reyes-Ewing-Wetherbe study, based upon 223 personal injury jury verdicts over
the past decade in over 16 Texas counties, highlights the challenges facing not only
non-English-speaking citizens, but the Hispanic community as a whole.

“We entered this project expecting to find some disparity, and although this was a
limited study, the results were an eye-opener,” says Mr. Reyes. “The finding that
jury verdicts may not be language-neutral should also be of interest to
policymakers, judges and community leaders who deal with Hispanic issues. This is
something that certainly warrants further research.”

For more information on the study involving language and trial outcomes, please
contact Mark Annick at 800-559-4534, 214-213-1754 (mobile) or mark@androvett.com.


Web Site: http://

Contact Details: Mark Annick
Androvett Legal Media
2501 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 650
Dallas, TX 75219
214-559-4630
mark@androvett.com