NCJ Number
96682
Date Published
1984
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Four panelists at the mediation conference present their perspectives on mediation and its relationship to the criminal justice system.
Abstract
Judge Jack Etheridge, senior judge for the State of Georgia, encourages those interested in alternative dispute resolution to present themselves more frequently in the courts; if these proponents can develop rapport with judges, they will have won active and useful proponents for alternatives in dispute resolution. Jose Feliciano, the prosecutor in Cleveland's district attorney's office, describes how his office operates and examines the different roles that mediation has in the system. Feliciano explains why he is such a strong proponent of mediation and notes that mediation is a very effective way to solve most of the problems that come into the court system. Detective Frank DeLuca of the Newburgh Police Department in Orange County, N.Y., describes how the police and the mediation program work together in Newburgh. Additionally, he notes the advantages experienced by mediation programs that have close relationships with the police department and traces the route that a case takes from the police department to the mediation table. Finally, DeLuca suggests that police officers and police chiefs be educated about mediation. Laura Blackburne, the vice president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, expresses the view that mediators and mediation programs have become part of the criminal justice system. Finally, she explains her own advocacy for mediation and encourages the advocacy of others.