Settling out of court is far less expensive than a trial. Unless you know for a fact that you have an ironclad case, you stand the risk of spending large amounts of money and getting nothing in return. No satisfaction, no restitution, nothing. Even if you do have an ironclad case, you need to weigh the costs of litigation with the potential award you might (or might not) get after a trial. If your case is against somebody you care for such as a family member or close friend, you might be far more inclined to give them what they want or negotiate with them personally out of court.
Attorneys are not trained to pursue your iron clad case. If an attorney believes that settling is in your best interest, the attorney will convince you to settle. Guilt or innocence does not matter to the attorney. How your case will hold up in court does. Although that is not direct corruption, I consider it corruption. Another form of corruption is that our courts are teeming with corrupt attorneys that want to convince you to settle because of their own best interest. Almost all of them are convinced they are not corrupt. Then there is the last form of corruption. The attorney that knowingly does whatever it takes in pursuit of his own best interest. The attorney knows he is corrupt.
In 1993 in the case of Jordan Chandler, Michael Jackson paid 15 million dollars in a settlement case. Both of his parents and his attorney got a cut of it. Two attorneys that were involved with the Chandler litigation did not get a cut of the money. They filed their own suits against Michael. The facts that surfaced during that settlement were that Michael denied any wrongdoing. In accordance with the settlement, the Chandlers dismissed all charges against Michael. Michael Jackson settled according to claims of negligence that was in now way related to sexual negligence.
Here is the exact quote of the settlement document:
"This Confidential Settlement shall not be construed as an admission by Jackson that he has acted wrongfully with respect to the Minor, Evan Chandler or June Chandler, or any other person or at all, or that the Minor, Evan Chandler and June Chandler have any rights whatsoever against Jackson. Jackson specifically disclaims any liability to, and denies any wrongful acts against the Minor, Evan Chandler or June Chandler or any other persons. The Parties acknowledge that Jackson is a public figure and that his name, image and likeness have commercial value and are an important element of his earning capacity. The Parties acknowledge that Jackson claims that he has elected to settle the claims in the Action in view of the impact the Action has had and could have in the future on his earnings and potential income."
The Chandlers could no longer testify against Michael Jackson in any civil court matter, but they were absolutely free to testify against him in any criminal court. This settlement was not a pay off. It was not hush money. It did not silence anybody. The family was free to testify against Michael in any criminal court. Any victim might want to do whatever it takes to support any action that would put their alleged child molester behind bars. Instead, they dropped all claims, signed a document that basically called them liars, took the money, and refused to talk to support the police. An important note was that Michael Jackson requested that the civil trial take place after the criminal trial. This request was denied. Such a request would make it impossible to say that he was paying anybody off to silence them in a criminal trial.
I would assume that upon any indication of child molestation, the first thing the victim would do is contact the authorities right that second. Not after brunch, not after finishing their work. ASAP. Certainly not after doing any negotiating. The initial strategy of the Chandler family was to negotiate a settlement before contacting authorities. Even chandler, Jordan’s father, initially told Michael Jackson to pay him 20 million dollars or else he would pursue allegations that would ruin Michaels career. Michael refused. But in the end, he had no choice. Michael had to settle. Attorneys were threatening to ruin Mr. Jackson's music deals just like Evan Chandler’s initial threat for 20 million dollars that Michael dismissed. The media was relentless, the system was not in his favor, and he was backed into a corner. If he went through with a civil trial, he risked a weaker defense in a criminal trial. By settling, his reputation would be affected. He chose to risk his reputation over a weaker defense in a criminal trial.