IN THE PROFESSION
PHOTO CREDIT : PEXELS
Consider the Special Master to Keep Your Cases Moving ______________________________________________________________
HON . RANDY RICH Former Superior Court Judge Henning Mediation & Arbitration Services , Inc judgerandyrich1 @ gmail . com
A lternative Dispute Resolution has always been important to help resolve cases short of a jury trial . Defendants can save costs by ending the case early , and plaintiffs are able to realize the cash value of their case without lengthy court delays and uncertainty . With COVID-19 , court delays have been drastically magnified in negative ways for civil litigants .
Before COVID-19 , judges could place a civil case on a trial calendar and trials would be held within a matter of months . With COVID-19 , delays are now measured by how many years a party must wait to have the day in court . The reason is simple : criminal cases must take priority . Even with a demand for a speedy trial , some criminal defendants have been waiting in jail since 2019 for their jury trial . Additionally , post-COVID-19 jury trials take longer to complete . Felony trials typically take at least one week , but now take longer due to COVID-19 precautions .
Court ordered mediation is now more common . Given that COVID-19 court delays are here to stay for the short term , I urge parties at mediation to think outside the box on how they define success in mediation . Obviously , a full settlement of the case is always preferred , but when this
16 August / September 2023