European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 8, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Settling minor Legal disputes daily Magazine tree fast and fair by Timothy Harper associated press Here were hard feelings when Julie Knop s Roommate moved out and did t pay her share of the rent left on their Madison wis., apartment lease. Julie 23, was afraid the landlord would sue her for the Roommate s share. She did t have the Money to hire a lawyer either to defend her against the landlord s suit or to sue the former Roommate. She and the sex room mate were so upset they could t even talk to each other. Finally they agreed to go to the Public mediation Cen Ter a nonprofit government funded Agency geared toward tree fast and fair settlement of minor Legal disputes. I m very satisfied Julie said after she and the sex Roommate met with mediators and in less than two hours worked out a Compromise on the rent we mutually agreed Julie explained. The Way the two mediators worked with us the atmosphere was Calm and tension free. It was real conducive to reaching an agreement. And it gave us a Chance to express our pent up  the Public mediation Center is one of about 100"neighborhood Justice programs spread Over two thirds of the Stales. Must were set up with . Justice department funding in the last two years apart of a giant Legal and sociological Experiment to catch the people who fall Between the cracks of our costly Legal framework. It s a place to go if you can t get your washing machine fixed or keep the neighbor s dog out of your Gar  concept is also aimed at slowing the 1970s tide of overburdened caseloads which have left backlogs of months and years even in the nation s Small claims  Experiment has not been without its critics since the first three programs opened in los Angeles Kansas City and Atlanta in the Spring of 1978. But it is working Well enough that Congress recently authorized spending $45 million through 1984 for new and existing neighbor Hood Justice  these programs Are kept Busy there s no question that they re cheaper than local courts John Beal a Deputy attorney general said in Washington. It looks like a Good supplement to rather than replacement for the courts.". Remarkably free of Federal stringy few existing Cen ters consider the same types of cases in the same manner. Some refuse All criminal cases but most will take minor criminal matters. Some use mediation while others rely More on arbitration. Some take Only cases involving people with ongoing personal relationships. Some allow people to bring friends or even lawyers to help them  train Volunteer mediators whose services arc provided free or for just a few dollars. All require that both parties to a dispute agree to participate and abide by the outcome. J the Public mediation Center in Madison opened its doors late last year with a $140,000 Federal local Grant to Steven Zwickel a lawyer and social , who expects the Center to handle 450 cases this year put 19 volunteers through 40 hours of training on everything from interpreting body language to techniques for focusing an argument. We Don l solve problems Here Zwickel says. We help people solve their problems themselves. And we Don l do counselling. The task of mediation is to help people strike a  an appointment is set up for the complainant to Tell his or her Side of the dispute to a Volunteer mediator with 3  then contacts the other party involved the respondent to ask if he or she would like to i sift he respondent meets with the second mediator to tape the Otic Side of the Story. The mediators Hen Exchange tapes and set up a session for the disputants to ,jycacrg5ejl. Scream and cry at each other and the in a half hour to two hours both a Lornor people just want somebody to listen to Ihm Zwickel says. All they want is an apology or Copf Cuoto Jemio be treats in a respectful manner. Some Leonle just need a Chance to blow off steam,.ffiinr,heir, the parties compose a written agreement which when both sign is legally binding. I like to think we get a better result in some cases because we re not limited to the Legal issues Zwickel says. In a rental Case for instance a court can Only examine the terms of the lease and the pertinent statutes. In mediation you can consider the personal issues. It s going from a win lose to a win win  he says the Center which gets Many clients by word of Mouth and on referrals from police and lawyers will not take a Case if any official action is pending. Larry Bechler the City attorney in suburban Middle ton recently dismissed a trespass complaint so two feud ing neighbors could seek mediation at the Center. It was not a police matter he says. Going to court would just make the losing party that much  Zwickel concedes there Are dangers in neighbor Hood Justice. For instance he says Volunteer Media tors must be carefully screened and trained. Zwickel also says confidentiality is not As Well protected in neighbourhood Justice and clients automatically give up certain constitutional rights of due process. For instance there s no right of Cross examination Here he  waiving those Legal rights is incidental to a free fast and fair system Zwickel says. He notes several studies which indicate a settlement rate of More than 90 percent for most cases handled by neighbourhood Justice centers. Rob Sikorski a researcher studying alternative Justice systems for the Wisconsin supreme court says he jus mixed feelings about neighbourhood Justice there s a potential for getting involved in a Kangaroo court of your , he says some centers arc handling technical Legal cases and implementing the same Type of formal legalistic procedures they Are supposed to sidestep. Richard Hof Trichter a congressional lobbyist for the National Council for senior citizens says there is also a threat of neighbourhood Justice becoming a silent by  individual might be satisfied but Consumers May lose out in the Long run because the issues never become Public he says. Hof Trichter says neighbourhood Justice centers should be viewed As a response to a decrease in productivity caused by litigation s increasing Drain on workers time and resources. The Point is to Sec them As a certain social control not just As a Means of coping with overloaded courts he says. Despite Congress recent funding authorization the Long Range future of neighbourhood Justice centers hinges on whether people will use them. And they will if they re at All like Julie Knop. Whose mediation with her sex Roommate meant both financial and personal satisfaction. We even ended up being friends  Julie said. That was an unexpected  the mediator Steven Zwickel we help people solve their problems  sunday. June 8, 1980 the stars and stripes Page 9