Most of us don't think about our court system very much. It's just there. We don't like to think about it because most of us don't like to think about conflict (unless we are watching slick courtroom dramas on TV.)
Just think though if we did not have a court system. Chaos! Self-help! More violence!
North Carolina's leadership in mediation has helped its court system function as well as it does.
This is from Judge W. David Lee, chair of North Carolina's Dispute Resolution Commission:
When money is scarce, our courts often “feel the pinch”, as well. ... Just like our citizens who have been hard hit, our courts must find ways to adapt to our current environment. While our citizens grapple with these economic and related issues, I am convinced that our situation would be worse absent the mediation process.... Beyond our Superior Court’s Mediated Settlement Conference Program and our District Court’s Family Financial Settlement Program, Dispute Settlement Centers operating across our State are successfully mediating thousands of juvenile cases and misdemeanor criminal matters, further reducing the burden on our courts. In addition, those same Centers serve to resolve a wide array of disputes voluntarily brought to them by citizens hopeful of resolving their conflicts short of litigation and court involvement.
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I understand that mediation in the court system can be very beneficial, but what happens when the defendant refuses it and the plaintiff is forced to "fight it out" in court? I know that mediation would have been very beneficial to me during my recent battle in the courts, for my ex-husband would have been forced to recognize his behavior as harmful to our child. Without this mediation,he can appear to be genuinely seeking out justice by guided representation, where his lawyer makes decisions about what he should say and how he should go about the process of justice. Obvious facts about what is harmful to a child could have then been addressed in an open-to-suggestion-setting. However, this is not the way that court operates, it is a battle, a war zone, and anything can happen
ReplyDeleteIs mandatory mediation possible in custody cases? I think that, given the fact that decisions in custody cases are not decided by a jury, mandatory mediation would serve a common good. For instance, if one or both parents could not come to any reasonable decisions about what is best for the child on their own, mediation could serve as an unbiast way to come to a decision, by asking questions and giving differing opinions about each issue involved. I believe that mandatory mediation would help resolve many problems, and in some cases the parents could eventually come to a cooperative decision by "talking it out"
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