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Valerie Hans Honored with Civil Justice Scholarship Award

In December, Valerie P. Hans, the Charles F. Rechlin Professor of Law, and two coauthors were named as one of two winners of the National Civil Justice Institute’s 2025 Civil Justice Scholarship Award. The team of Hans, Professor Richard Jolly of Southwestern Law School, and attorney Robert Peck of the Center for Constitutional Law were recognized for their article “Democratic Renewal and the Civil Jury,” which appeared in the Georgia Law Review. In the article, Hans, Jolly, and Peck highlight the civil jury’s vital role as a cornerstone of representative governance and its potential to foster civic engagement and sociopolitical renewal. By addressing the challenges that have diminished the jury’s role in resolving disputes and offering six research-based recommendations for its revival, their article provides a practical roadmap to restoring juries to their historic importance in the American legal system.

Valerie Hans

Valerie Hans


The Civil Justice Scholarship Award, bestowed periodically by the NCJI to published legal academics, recognizes current, scholarly legal research and writing focused on topics in civil justice, including access to justice and the benefits of the U.S. civil justice system, as well as the right to trial by jury in civil cases.

“I am so honored to be recognized for this contribution to an ongoing dialogue about the civil jury, a cornerstone of the justice system, and an institution that promotes community participation, fair outcomes, and democratic values,” said Professor Hans.
Hans conducts empirical studies of law and the courts and is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the jury system. Trained as a social scientist, she has carried out extensive research and lectured around the globe on juries and jury reforms as well as the uses of social science in law. She is the author or editor of 10 books and over 150 research articles.

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