Games, information, and evidence production: with application to English legal history

This paper studies the problem of how the legal system regulatesactivity outside the courtroom based on information suppliedin court by interested and potentially dishonest parties. Thesupply of information is analyzed along a game-theoretic dimension:the extent to which the supplier has an interest in how theinformation will be used. Such analysis uncovers a basic trade-offin system design between the 'fixed costs' of hearings (e.g.,the productive activity forsaken by participation) and the costof the evidence produced therein. This trade-off helps to explainand connect several trends in the historical evolution of Englishcivil process.