Civil Court Mediation in the 21st Century

Tempe, and the greater justice system, consistently seeks to re-evaluate its operations and processes to meet the ever-increasing conflicts that are brought into the courts purview. Nationally, municipal courts have seen a decrease in civil matters, however, this is not the case in Tempe. My goal for this project was to assess and reflect on the circumstances that surround civil matters within the municipal court. As a case study, I observed and evaluated several civil court cases. In doing so, I analyzed the ways in which legal consciousness and discourse are used to solve existing civil court matters. I then took these data and considered the ways in which mediation could be used as a justice alternative. In proposing mediation as an alternative, I focus on the ways in which mediation better serves to build positive legal consciousness and address all forms of discourse that can be presented in specific civil cases. Finally, I discuss a strategy that can be used within the Tempe Courts to implement mediation as a long-term problem-solving court strategy.