Litigation
Litigation, also referred to as adjudication, is the process of resolving disputes through a formal court or justice system. In litigation, disputants (either represented by attorneys or representing themselves) appear before a judge or jury to present their case. The case is evaluated based on legal merit and subjected to analysis via the well-defined science of rights. Litigation is a public forum (given the litigants are of legal age), and each case is weighed against existing precedent, constitutional rights, and interpretation of the law. In a jury trial, the case is presented and a judge instructs the jury of the applicable law(s) and the jury’s options in making decisions. The jury returns a decision and the judge rules regard ing the outcome. In the United States, disputants have the right to appeal the decision to a higher court and continue to appeal to even higher courts through several levels, finally culminating at the Supreme Court of the United States. The other approaches of dispute resolution discussed in this section are considered alternatives to the adjudicative process.
