This study examined the Cobb County, Georgia, civil mediation program in terms of time to disposition, court activity, and satisfaction of participants in mediation. A comparative study of cases that were closed before the mediation program was instituted and cases mediated directly after the beginning of the program showed a slight decrease in disposition time and court activity for each case. An examination of questionnaires distributed to litigants, attorneys and mediators showed a high degree of satisfaction with the program and the mediation process.
Description of Study: Examination of the effect of mediation on court backlog. Four case types were involved: divorce, custody, damages-contract, and damages-tort.
Method: For time to disposition, trial rate and number of court appearances, a comparison was done between cases filed prior to the establishment of the mediation program and mediated cases. Took random samples with identical numbers of cases for each case type. Also sent out questionnaires to attorneys, parties, and mediators after the mediation session.
Comparative: Yes
Sample Size: 123 cases referred to mediation and 123 cases not referred; 84 of 250 individuals to whom questionnaires were sent
Variables Examined: Time to disposition, trial rate, court appearances, settlement rate, fairness of the process, satisfaction with the process
Program Variables: Voluntary program with mediations conducted off-site and for-fee. The program had been in place three years at the time of the study.
Findings: Prior to the mediation program, time to disposition ranged from 37 to 1434 days, with a mean of 367.47. After the mediation program commenced, time to disposition ranged from 44 to 974 days, with a mean of 338.73.
The number of court appearances per case prior to the mediation program ranged from 0-15, with a mean of 2.45. This dropped mildly to a range of 0-9 with a mean of 2.04 after the mediation program. The number of trials dropped from 30 to 18.
97% of mediation participants thought the process was fair; 87% were satisfied with mediation as a whole.