Outcomes of Requests for Summary Judgments in Federal Sexual Harassment Cases: Policy Capturing Revisited

In this study we employ a policy-capturing approach to identify those variables that appear to have a significant influence on the outcomes of defense requests for summary judgments in federal sexual harassment (SH) cases. The purpose of the study is to extend studies performed by D. E. Terpstra and D. D. Baker (1988, 1992) in light of evolving legislation and case law and address the criticisms of policy-capturing studies by M. V. Roehling (1993). Results of the analysis indicate that those variables that most influence case outcomes are: whether the plaintiff had witnesses, the severity and frequency of the SH, and Federal Circuit Court jurisdiction. Finally, the study also shows that past criticisms of this method may be addressed with modifications to data collection and coding techniques.