Court-connected mediation before litigation
Our Court-Connected Mediation Program provides
the opportunity for those with cases in the Magistrate’s
Court system to resolve their dispute using mediation rather than
going to a trial by jury.
This pilot program was signed into effect by Chief Justice
Jean Toal and requires that litigants in Richland and Lexington
counties attempt mediation before their case can proceed to a
jury trial. Mediators from the Community Mediation Center are
available on-site on pre-trial hearing dates to provide free mediation
to the parties..
In a recent recommendation letter, Chief Magistrate Judge William
Womble stated,
“My experience with the Community
Mediation Center located in Columbia, SC has been wonderful. This
organization has been instrumental in the execution of a pilot
alternative dispute resolution program for the Magistrate Court
system in Richland and Lexington Counties.”
Over 15 volunteer and staff mediators have been involved in this
program, which is generating much excitement in the mediation
community. Richland Magistrate Court Judge Mel Maurer met
with our mediators in February to familiarize them
with the types of cases and to express the court’s appreciation
for their efforts. Results to date are very positive with over
40% of the cases resulting in an agreement. This is an important
milestone in South Carolina—the connection between community
mediation and the court system—and we are excited to be involved.
Kathleen Severens, Director of the Office of Community Dispute
Resolution at the U.S. Department of Justice made the following
remarks regarding the connection between community mediation centers
and courts:
“Community mediation shares
a vision with people who are committed to making the world a better
place. One of the most powerful relationships in the field of
mediation is courts and community mediation centers. A challenge
we face is keeping the community in the context of court mediation
and keeping community mediation's values in the process of integrating
into the court's value system.
"What makes community mediation
distinct? We believe in a person's ability and capacity to make
their own decisions and take responsibility for those decisions,
voice and choice. Voice and choice is the crux of the tension
between courts and mediation centers. So the question remains,
how do we further the interest of community mediation centers
within the context of a court setting?
"We must take the community mediation
process and make it make sense in the context of the court while
being sensitive to the needs of the court. By connecting with
the courts we have the potential to help people with conflict
while simultaneously getting the word out about community mediation.
Not only do they learn of the existence of mediation but they
have the opportunity to experience the process.”
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