The Ohio Supreme Court enacted the Uniform Mediation Act in October to help people settle disputes outside a courtroom, an effort in which local judges have expressed interest.
Mediation is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution. In this case, an impartial third party, the mediator, helps the other two parties reach a mutual agreement before the case even reaches trial.
Mediation is less expensive
and it gets rid of gridlock in the court docket said Jeff Bendert, an Ohio Judicial Conference staff member.
In addition, using alternative resolution methods reduces judges' caseloads, allowing them to focus their attention on more complicated cases, Judge L. Alan Goldsberry said.
The Athens Common Pleas Court already uses small claims mediators, and the Ohio Supreme Court recently appointed a mediator to the Athens Municipal Court who will begin work in February, Goldsberry said.
The Ohio Supreme Court is currently training mediators to follow the act's standards, said Bruce Heckman, the dispute resolution section manager of the Ohio Supreme Court.
The act clarifies what mediation communications are, defines when information from the mediation can be divulged outside a mediation session and distinguishes confidential mediations from privileged mediations, Heckman said.
The act defines mediation communications as written, verbal or non-verbal.
According to the act, a mediation session is deemed privileged if the information disclosed in the session cannot be used in formal court proceedings.
However, if the information revealed involves, among other things, child abuse, destructive crimes or malpractice, it can be used in court. Confidential refers to mediation communications that will not be disclosed to the news media. The degree of confidentiality is decided before the mediation.
The parties voluntarily attempt mediation before going to trial, but if no resolution is reached, formal court proceedings will ensue, Bendert said.
Goldsberry, a member of the Ohio Judicial Conference Committee, attended an alternative dispute resolution meeting Friday in Columbus. This was a combined meeting for dispute resolution committees of the state and allowed the organizations to exchange information and to discuss the act, Goldsberry said.
(The meeting) makes judges aware of mediation and opens their minds and eyes to court-sponsored mediation programs Bendert said.
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Annie Hartman
