Ohhhhmmmmmm......close your eyes.....let the world go...go down....deeper....deeper.
Oh wait- that is MEDITATION and we are writing about MEDIATION.
Very quietly last week a pilot criminal mediation project went into effect. Four cases were sent to Retired Judge and apparently Super-Mediator Stanford Blake, whose health appears to be just fine we are pleased to report.
And the results of this frangipani experiment were that.....(drum roll please....) ALL FOUR CASES WERE SETTLED! TA DA!
Well fry us in butter and call us a Catfish! Mediation. In criminal court! Who woulda thunk it?
Put us firmly in the NO category about this unsavory experiment in jurisprudence. If this gets out, the next thing that will happen is that more cases will settle and no one will need criminal trial lawyers and we don't remember anything from law school about how to write a will or do a closing. Trying criminal cases is all we know how to do. (That and writing superb blog pieces, but there is only money in trying criminal cases).
So no sir, settling cases with mediation is not something we like. Not one bit.
Now excuse as as we have to finish an appellate brief on our IBM Selectric.
Sign me up!
ReplyDeleteI still have an IBM typewriter for labels and love it.
ReplyDeleteMediation cannot hurt at all. Sometimes an independent person can help solve a stalemate.
Who could be better at that than Stan Blake.
So glad he is beating cancer.
A disaster in the making. I am a former ASA and have litigated civil cases for 25 years. Mediation works for one reason: $$. A plaintiff may have a great case but will have to spend mucho moolah proving it and the defendant may be broke by that time. So you take one quarter of a loaf and both sides leave more pissed off than when they walked in. In criminal, there are only a very few types of cases that one can mediate. For example, a domestic dispute/battery/food fight where the parties will kiss and make up. Otherwise, forget it. Imagine: "yeah, you stabbed the guy 15 times but a withhold is not in the cards. How about 30 years?" And what about the victims who will show up and want blood! And is Stan doing this gratis? Even a quick 4 hour mediation can run $2500.00. The trial in a criminal case will be quicker than attending mediation. Forget it.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTHE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
COVID-19 ADVISORY #49
SELF-MONITORING NOTICE
Three individuals who worked in the locations and on the dates listed below have tested positive for COVID-19.
Persons identified as having been in close proximity to the confirmed individuals are being notified and will be asked to take all necessary precautions.
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Room 14-356
Last date worked: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020
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Courtrooms 2B and 2D
Last date worked: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020
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Courtroom 6-8 on Nov. 5-6, 2020 and Nov. 12, 2020
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Last date worked: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020
Persons who were in these locations recently should follow self-monitoring steps for the next 14 days as outlined in the Centers for Disease Control website at:
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Cap Out .....
These mediations groups are judicial grifters
ReplyDeleteWhere do I sign up to be the mediator?
ReplyDelete