Process and outcomes of a court‐administered civil mediation program

• Author: Sarah Vidal,Michele Harmon,Suzanne Kaasa
• Date: 01 June 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21230
• Published date: 01 June 2019

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Process and outcomes of a court-administered civil

mediation program

Sarah Vidal | Suzanne Kaasa | Michele Harmon

Westat, Rockville, Maryland

Correspondence

Sarah Vidal, Westat, 1700 Research Boulevard,

Rockville, MD 20850.

Email: sarahvidal@westat.com

Funding information

District of Columbia Superior Court Multi-Door

Division

This paper extends the current literature on court-connected

civil mediation programs and provides implications for

future research and court administration policy and practice.

Using administrative court data, we describe the mediation

case processing, explore the factors associated with case par-

ticipation in mediation, and examine how mediation pro-

cesses and case characteristics relate to different case

outcomes. Our findings indicate that 77.5% of cases assigned

to a mediation track resulted in settlement, 17% reached res-

olution through a judicial ruling, and only 5.5% had trial-

related outcomes. More than two thirds of cases that went

through mediation settled after mediation and prior to trial.

1|INTRODUCTION

Mediation is a nonadversarial process that involves a neutral third person who helps achieve a mutu-

ally acceptable solution to conflicts between parties. Research suggests that mediation is associated

with high settlement rates and compliance with mediation agreements (Kressel, 2014; Wissler, 2004).

Mediation participants generally report favorable outcomes, including satisfaction with the process

(Kressel, 2014; Senft & Savage, 2003). Despite the promising outcomes associated with participation

in mediation, systematic research on mediation processes and their association with case outcomes is

scarce (Kressel, 2014). For example, we know little about the characteristics of cases referred to

mediation and how these characteristics affect the process by which cases go through (or fail to go

through) mediation. We address these gaps in the literature by describing the processes of a court-

mandated civil mediation program, exploring the factors associated with cases in the mediation pro-

gram, and examining how mediation processes and case characteristics relate to case outcomes.

2|COURT-CONNECTED MEDIATION

Over the past several decades, court mediation programs have increased in popularity as an alterna-

tive dispute resolution (ADR) (Streeter-Schaefer, 2000; Kessler & Finkelstein, 1987). Proponents of

Received: 4 April 2018 Revised: 23 July 2018 Accepted: 26 July 2018

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21230

© 2018 Association for Conflict Resolution and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2019;36:279–292. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq 279