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Constable Bruce Elfant
Notebook Archives
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Constable's Notebook - September 2007
Your neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking. Your mechanic charges you for
more work than you believe was completed. Your tenant won’t pay the rent on time
or your landlord won’t make reasonable repairs. Disputes between parties not
quickly resolved tend to end up in court or can fester, often leading to greater
problems.
Conflicts between neighbors have existed as long as humans. In early times,
religious leaders acted as arbiters of disagreements. As groupings of people
grew into communities, processes were established to resolve conflicts between
countrymen. The use of mediation to settle disputes dates back to the ancient
Greek and Roman civilizations. People who were trusted and respected by all
parties mediated disputes ranging from theft to issues of commerce. Over the
years, nations established formal justice systems where disputes were decided
and enforced by governments.
By the latter half of the 20th century, courts at all levels were overwhelmed by
a backlog of cases. Court backlogs have delayed justice and increased litigation
costs to the point of not being a viable method for resolving many disputes. In
1965, a Presidential Commission directed to study the court system recommended
that some cases should be diverted from the courts. New mediation guidelines
allowed retired judges, attorneys, and law students to arbitrate disagreements
more quickly and at less cost.
Austin Dispute Resolution Center (ADR) was founded in 1983 to help people resolve
a variety of issues: neighborhood (zoning), pre-and post-divorce, real estate,
landlord/tenant, consumer/merchant, employer/employee, business and small claims,
and parent/adolescent. ADR’s goals include providing more appropriate processes
for certain types of cases, providing a case resolution process that is less
costly and more accessible for people, and reducing court caseloads. Mediation
sessions cost $35 for each party, typically last up to four hours, and can be
scheduled within 10 to 14 days. Parties must agree to mediate. Mediators do not
make judgments, express opinions, or give legal advice. They facilitate communication
so the parties can find a solution of their own. ADR mediators conduct about 1,000
mediations per year and report that 85% of mediations are successful. ADR also
offers basic mediation training (40 hours), advanced family mediation training
(30 hours) and customized training (up to 2 days) for individuals who are interested
in becoming state certified mediators. Travis County judges, in an effort to
reduce the number of trials and encourage outcomes agreed to by all parties, routinely
require mediations for certain types of cases to be conducted before litigation can
occur. Dispute Resolution Center staff can be reached at 371-0033 or
www.austindrc.org.
The Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution (CPPDR) at the University of Texas
also provides dispute resolution services for governmental entities, policymakers,
and others involved in public policy disputes. CPPDR maintains a website about
dispute resolution issues at cppdr@law.utexas.edu.
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