Hakirah Questionnaire for Dayyanim

This is a questionnaire for dayyanim who have officiated atone or morebattei din.Your answers willbe used fora future article in Hakirahaboutbatteidin.Your privacy will be protected and your identity will not be revealed. To answer the questions tab from field to field.

You may omit any question.Feel free to add additional comments at the end of the questionnaire.

Save your responses and email this file to .(Note, if you are not able to ‘Save’ the file do a ‘Save as’ and give it a slightly different name.) Thank you for your help!

# / Question / Your Answer
0005 / Demographic
0010 / Country in which you reside:
0020 / State:
0030 / City:
0040 / Your profession:
0050
0070 / Your Experience as a Dayyan
0080 / Have you ever officiated as a dayyan at abet din? / YesNo
0090 / Your experiences atbet din have been mostly: / PositiveNegativeMixedNeutral
0100 / In which battie din have your appeared?
0110 / Which bet din did you find to be particularly good?
0115 / What was good about it?
0120 / Which betdin did you find to be particularly bad?
0125 / What was bad about it?
0130 / Have you ever viewedun-professional behavior from otherdayyanim? / YesNo If yes, explain:
0140 / Have you ever experienced un-professional behavior from the toanim? / YesNo If yes, explain:
0142 / Are toanim more interested in helping their client or getting at the truth? / Getting at the truthHelping thier clientIt dependsUnsure
0143 / Do toanim play a beneficial or a detrimental role at bet din? / BeneficialDetrimentalIt dependssometimes
0144 / Do lawyers play a beneficial or a detrimental role at bet din? / BeneficialDetrimentalIt dependssometimes
0146 / Do you sense an increase in criminal activity (e.g., stealing and cheating) in our community? / IncreaseDecreaseThe sameUnsure
0148 / Do you sense an increase in cases coming to bet din? / IncreaseDecreaseThe sameUnsure
0150 / Have you ever felt that otherdayyanim did not understand the issues involved? / YesNo If yes, explain:
0160 / Have you ever participated in a din torahin which you believed that justice was not done? / YesNo If yes, explain:
0170 / Have you ever felt that the other dayanim did not have a grasp of the halakhah? / YesNo If yes, explain:
0175 / Do litigants who know they have no case sometimes request pesharah in an effort to at least get “something”? / SometimesNeverAlwaysUnsure
0176 / When you judge using pesharah would you ever award even a minute amount to someone who is totally in the wrong? / SometimesNeverAlwaysUnsure
0180 / What do you advise someonewho tells you that they just received a hazmanah to appear beforebet din?
0185 / What percentage of defendants refuses to respond to a hazmanah?
0190 / Have any of your litigants (or your opponents) refused to follow the psak of bet din and challenged it in secular court? / YesNo If yes, explain:
0200 / If yes, was the psak of bet din vacated by the court? / YesNoDon't know
0210 / What percentage of defendants to whom you send a hazmanha stay with yourbet din?
0220 / What percentage of your cases in bet din is decided with zabla?
0225 / Do you believe that when the litigants are Jewish it is okay from a halakhic point of view to arbitrate the case in a non-Jewish arbitration board such as the American Arbitration Association (AAA)? / YesNoUnsure
0230 / Do you ever advise a friend to put a clause in their contract stating that disputes between the parties are to be settled by an arbitration board such as the AAA? / YesNo
0235 / Did you ever advise anyone to use mediation to resolve their disputes? / YesNo
0236 / If yes, which mediation board do you suggest?
0240 / Do you ever advise anyone to put a clause in their business contracts stating that disputes should be resolved in a particular bet din? / YesNo
0250 / If yes, which bet din did you specify?
0260 / Do the litigants at yourbet dinrequestpesharah or din? / PesharaDinIt depends
0270 / Have you advised anyone to use a Jewish arbitration board (one that is not a bet din) to resolve a dispute? / YesNo If yes, which one?
0280 / Are batteidin getting better, worse, or staying the same? / BetterWorseStaying the sameUnsure In what way?
0290 / Does yourbetdin insist that the litigants sign an arbitration agreement? / AlwaysSometimesNever
0300 / Are you aware of the details of Federal and State arbitration statutes and do you abide by them? / YesNoUnsure Comment:
0330 / What are the fees that yourbet din charges per hour?
0340 / Did you know of a bet din that ever dragged out a case to increase revenue? / YesNoUnsure
0350 / Doesyourbetdinhave a policy to reduce fees when a litigant can not afford to pay? / YesNo
0355 / Does anyone ever seek out a particular bet din because they know how it rules in certain types of cases? / YesNo
0360 / When a defendant receives a hazmanahto your bet dinis it difficult switching to a different bet din? / YesNo
0370 / Do you allow lawyers at yourbet din? / YesNo
0385 / Are procedures at yourbet din consistent and well established? / YesNoDon't know
0390 / Did you ever feel that the halakhah was too ambiguous for the bet din to come up with a definite psak? / YesNoUnsure
0400 / How many hours does it take to resolve a case in bet din? / Longest case:
Shortest case:
Average case:
0405 / How many sessions does it take to resolve a case in bet din? / Longest case:
Shortest case:
Average case:
0410 / How many elapsed days does it take to resolve a case in bet din? / Longest case:
Shortest case:
Average case:
0430 / Are litigantswho appear before your bet dincynical about being able to receive justice? / AlwaysSometimesNever
0450 / On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest or best rating) how would you rate thebatteidin in which you presided:
0451 / Professionalism / 12345678910 Comment:
0452 / Ethics / 12345678910 Comment:
0453 / Confidentiality / 12345678910 Comment:
0454 / Procedural consistency / 12345678910 Comment:
0455 / Efficiency / 12345678910 Comment:
0456 / Knowledge of halakhah / 12345678910 Comment:
0457 / Knowledge of business issues / 12345678910 Comment:
0458 / Knowledge of arbitration statutes / 12345678910 Comment:
0460 / To whom would/could a litigant complain if they felt that yourbet din were lacking in any of the above qualities?
0470 / Are more or fewer decisions of bet din being challenged in court now than in previous years? / More decisions are being challengedFewer decisions are being challengedUnsure
0480 / Would you like to see batteidin working in conjunction with an arbitration organization such as the AAA? / YesNo
0481 / Would you like to see batteidin adopt the procedural practices and the ethical standards of the AAA? / YesNo
0500 / Which do the people who appear at you bet din prefer, bet din or secular courts? / Beit DinSecular CourtIt depends on the Case Why?
0502 / Are battei din getting better or worse? / BetterWorseUnsure In what way?
0505 / What is the biggest problem with our battei din?
0506 / How would you solve this problem?
0510 / Any additional comments you may have concerning bet din.

*** End.

Save your responses and email this file to .(Note, if you are not able to ‘Save’ the file do a ‘Save as’ and give it a slightly different name. If all else fails, print and fax the survey to 718-534-3142.) Thank you for your help!