As part of our empirical research into mediation, we studied data collected by the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution which is a Georgia Supreme Agency created to oversee court-connected ADR programs.
To produce this graphic, we plotted the settlement rates of cases mediated in Georgia’s large Superior Court mediation programs. This includes programs where more than 100 cases per year were mediated from 1997 to 2005. This graphic shows the percentage of cases reaching any type of settlement (full or partial) in mediations administered by the superior court programs represented here.
This table is limited to superior court ADR programs that administer more than 100 cases per year. Some data was not available (DeKalb 1997, Gwinnett 1998, Coweta 2004 excluded due to likely recording error).
Sadly, no data for 2006 and 2007 is available from GODR. The office reports its work has been limited by staff and budget cuts.
The settlement rates of Superior Court Mediation Programs are fairly consistent over time. The Southern JAD reports a relatively high rate of settlement through mediation whereas the Cobb Superior Court ADR Program reports a relatively low rate of settlement over the time period reflected here.
A number of variables may affect the settlement rates achieved in the various programs represented here. We might expect that these programs would mediate the same types of cases because we have isolated Superior Court programs. Other variables that may account for the various settlement rates achieved include
- Timing of Referral to the ADR Process;
- Regulation of Who May Mediate Court-Connected Cases;
- Demographics of the Population Served;
- Party Involvement in Selecting Mediator, Mediation Location; and
- Who Pays the Mediator
Our hypothesis is that the more a court program exercises coercive control of the mediation process, the less likely cases mediated through that program will result in settlement.
Although no less than the Georgia Supreme Court has created a Commission to continuously evaluate the performance of court-connected ADR programs, I have received scalding criticism from court administrators for evaluating how well their mediation programs have actually performed in terms of settling cases and representing that court programs should be evaluated for the benefit of litigants and taxpayers who fund these programs.
This graphic has been published on our web site, www.centerforlegalsolutions.org, for some time, but I wanted to post it separately to provide some additional commentary on it and provide readers an opportunity to share their comments on it.
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