Mediation Frustration

Recently, the mediation services area has been somewhat busy lately. In trying to expand our services to different areas of Hampton Roads, we have run into several bureaucratic obstacles. Unfortunately, these obstacles only hinder the important role that mediation plays in the criminal justice system.

Mediation is an opportunity for people to use self-determination to resolve conflict, and it can be of great assistance to the justice system. Alternative Dispute Resolution is an avenue of gaining justice that will leave all parties feeling heard and empowered. Unfortunately, the justice system cannot meet everyone’s needs, as adjudication rarely allows for restoration or vindication and almost every court case will leave someone feeling like something else is needed. Plaintiffs and defendants often need someone to understand that their ordeal is frustrating and that they are hurt.

Despite the care and detail that is put into writing the law, a judge only makes decisions on what the law says is just, which does not necessarily reflect what is fair. A judge looks at case law and statute, not at long hours of work, tears, shouting matches, and destroyed relationships. Mediation provides what the judge cannot, an opportunity to look at what is fair and just and a place to discuss what the law does not and cannot take into account. It is for this reason we want to provide mediation as a valuable addition to the typical legal process. It is important that the criminal justice system does not see people as merely a docket number but as individuals going through a difficult time and in need of help.

Mandy Stallings