Federal Court Mediation Study

Despite the centrality of court adjudication to the rule of law, and of court-connected mediation programs to court adjudication, there has never been a well-executed and exhaustive study of mediation’s costs and benefits. This project will complete a randomized control trial (“RCT”) evaluation of a court-connected mediation program. The RCT has taken place in an environment unusually hostile to evidence-based thinking, namely, the United States federal court system. Multiple outcome variables directly relevant to mediation’s alleged justifications will be measured. Intake on the 353-unit study has closed, and the funding will be used to complete cost estimation, research assistant spreadsheeting of outcomes, and nonstandard data analysis. The RCT is critical to a resource allocation dispute ongoing within the federal judiciary, which has indicated its desire for more such evidence, and it will serve as a model for court systems in the United States and abroad.