Tagged as a Mediator

Would a collaborative approach or mediation work well in traffic or criminal court? Recently  I appeared in court representing a young college student who was charged with travelling 130 mph on a motorcycle on one of the local interstates late at night. He received a PBJ (in Maryland this stands for “Probation Before Judgment”, not Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich). The outcome is in many ways what you might expect if the matter was resolved in mediation-not through the adversarial Court process. Here is why I say it was “interest based”-a mediation hallmark: The Defendant 1) avoided receiving  a guilty finding or a point assessment on his driving record, and 2) and the outcome is generally viewed more favorably by employers, the government, and insurance companies. His interest in preserving a good record and avoiding a negative public record that is ofter viewed unfavorably by employers, the government, and employers was obtained. The State (here I will lump the State of Maryland and the Judiciary together) was able to subject the Defendant to a tongue lashing, a fine, and a strict probation to  ”insure” no repeat offense without potential negative consequences. In theory and in hope, the Defendant will change his behavior and never drive this fast again and the public will be safer. Each side has had a significant interest satisfied.

Author’s Note: This theory and hoped for result did not work for the undersigned. In 1968 I was stopped for (allegedly) travelling 110mph early in the morning on a near empty interstate in Alabama coming back from the Mardi Gras wearing beads (this was the sixties, folks, and guys did not wear beads in the sixties, especially in Alabama early in the morning).  I told the State Trooper that I played football for Clemson (in South Carolina), but our school certainly recognized that Bear Bryant (the Alabama football coach who could have run for Governor and won hands down any time)was clearly the greatest football coach of all time and that we were lucky to only have to play Alabama every few years. With God as the mediator, I received a warning ticket. I proudly displayed it on my dorm room wall and began thinking that a career in law might work for me. The career has worked fine, but unfortunately I have picked up some State issued paperwork while driving too fast. That paperwork  is not proudly displayed on my walls.

BREAKING NEWS: I can personally verify that in Maryland under Transportation Article, section  21-810, you can get a $40 civil fine for speeding in a work zone (and a free color photo of the rear end of your car) by going exactly 13 mph in excess of the speed limit at night in light traffic, going with the flow, not texting, listening to politically correct radio shows when NO ONE is working. Do the math:  four tickets at $40 each issued per minute, times 60 minutes in an hour, times 24 hours in a day, times 365 days in a year, EQUALS no NEED to ever raise any more taxes again-EVER!!!! How can the government spend money faster than I drive?#@&^%$&!!!!!! Can I invest in one of those speed cameras? I could make Bernie Madoff look like he ran a lemonade stand. Speaking of billing, don’t you think the State of Maryland should just bill me by the hour for my time spent on the road? What value has it provided to me by their flat rate billing plan? And-no price discrimination? All citizens pay the same amount regardless of the ability to pay? They should let Regal Cinemas help them out with their marketing. Charge a different price based on the age of the driver, the time they use the road (matinee road time), and then charge a big fat fee if they want popcorn and soda in Court. A quart of soda is $5.00, so a gallon of soda would be $20. Think of that the next time you are at the gas pump….gas is relatively cheap.