The 14th Judicial Circuit in South Carolina adopted procedures to encourage mediation in family and civil cases. According to an article in the Beaufort Gazette, the number of cases have increased by 33 percent in the last three years. To combat this explosion of cases, and to help the courts manage their docket, the 14th Circuit will require cases to go through a mandatory mediation program.
One aspect of this article that is most interesting, and frankly, one that I hadn't thought about before, is the impact of settlement on the court's docket. I don't mean the point that courts will have fewer trials, but that trials can be better scheduled. My experience has been that most cases settle, and some settle on the eve of trial. That impacts not only the participants in the trial scheduled for number one on the docket, but for numbers 2-4 also. Do they have their witnesses prepared to come in? Are the witnesses available if called? Do you have to release folks from trial subpoenas? There is a whole host of logistical considerations to consider.
So, in addition to all of the well-known benefits of mediation, here's another to add to the list. Mediation allows courts and the parties to firm up their dockets.
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