NCJ Number
108478
Date Published
1987
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Panelists describe the nature and effectiveness of court-based and community-based alternative dispute resolution programs.
Abstract
A mediation program in Phoenix, Ariz., established in 1986, uses trained volunteers to conduct voluntary mediation sessions that may produce unbinding agreements. Each case costs an average of $185, and 91 percent of the cases have been successfully resolved. Disputes range from minor noncriminal conflicts to criminal assaults. Referrals are received from prosecutors, police, private attorneys, city officials, and the disputants themselves. One panelist describes the concept of the "multidoor" courthouse as practiced in the District of Columbia. This involves a courthouse providing multiple mechanisms for resolving disputes at one site. Intake personnel assess the disputes brought to them and assign each case to the appropriate dispute-resolution mechanisms. Programs are operated by the court. Lessons from this experimental program include the importance of a core of court personnel support, logistical planning as a key to success, and the value of publicizing program effectiveness. The description of a New York City mediation service profiles the mediators and notes the various settings in which mediation occurs, including schools and neighborhoods, and numerous felony offenses. The mediation is voluntary, but binding. Eighty-one percent of the cases are resolved, and there is an 80-percent compliance rate for mediation agreements.