The proposal that naturally emerges from this analysis again involves a two-phase
determination of punitive awards. As before, juries should be asked to provide a rating or
a ranking of the case at hand on a scale of punitive intent, as in the preceding proposal.
However, the conversion function from punishment to dollars would be generated by a
legislative or regulatory process, not by the empirical mapping from one measure of
community sentiment to another. The conversion function would take into consideration
the factors that affect community judgment, such as firm size, but it would be based on an
informed analysis of the harm that different levels of damage would cause. The availability
of a formal scheme to convert punitive intent into dollars would not only reduce the
unpredictability of awards; it is also likely to make them more fair and more reasonable.