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Just Court ADR

The blog of Resolution Systems Institute

New Resources Added to RSI’s Resource Center

Nicole Wilmet, June 4th, 2021

Did you know that RSI’s Resource Center is the most comprehensive and respected source of information on court ADR anywhere? Housed within the Resource Center is the Research Library which has an extensive annotated collection of court ADR resources such as articles, studies, court rules, statutes and court forms.


As RSI’s Resource Center Director, each month I add new resources to the Research Library. The following list highlights a few of the resources that have recently been added.

I hope these resources are helpful to you in your work!

Welcome Kim!

Nicole Wilmet, June 3rd, 2021

RSI is delighted to welcome Kim Bernhard as its new Resource Center Intern for the summer. Kim will be working with RSI’s Resource Center Director Nicole Wilmet this summer and will have the opportunity to learn about ADR and explore resources related to eviction and restorative justice. Kim joins RSI from Chicago-Kent College of Law where she is a rising second year student. We hope you will welcome us in joining her!

What You Need to Know in Order to Know More About Your Program

Jennifer Shack, June 1st, 2021

I thought I’d do something a little different this month and point out a few resources to those of you who are interested in either starting to examine your ADR programs or are thinking about how to expand or improve current efforts to evaluate program effectiveness. 

Demographics

There has been a push lately to have courts collect demographic information from parties, particularly race and ethnicity, so that courts can better understand and address inequities in service provision. In that vein, the National Center for State Courts has published “Collecting Race and Ethnicity Data.” This is a short report that provides helpful information on the standards for collecting such information, things to think about when planning to collect it and how you may want to customize race and ethnicity categories to best fit the community you serve. 

Model Surveys

Demographics are also included in the Model Surveys created by RSI and the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution. But that’s only one part of what you’ll find in our packet. The Model Surveys include questions you should ask on any mediation program survey, as well as instructions about how to customize the surveys for your particular program.

Guide to Program Success

If you’re looking for more extensive information on how to monitor and evaluate your program, RSI has included two chapters in our Guide to Program Success that step you through tracking your program and conducting evaluations. In Chapter 11, “Design a System to Track Your Program,” you’ll learn how to decide what to track, what data will be needed from what sources in order to do so, and more.  Chapter 15, “Evaluate Your Program,” dives into everything you need to know about how to do a full program evaluation.

In the Wake of COVID-19, Hawaii Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Mediation Before Eviction

Nicole Wilmet, May 28th, 2021

In April, the Hawaii legislature passed legislation to amend the state’s landlord-tenant code in the wake of COVID-19. The new legislation encourages the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and modifies the landlord-tenant code in a few ways by: 

  1. Extending the deadline in notices of termination of a rental agreement from five days to fifteen days to allow time for mediation;
  2. Requiring landlords to provide a copy of the termination of a rental agreement which they serve to tenants to a mediation center that provides free landlord-tenant mediation; and  
  3. Requiring landlords to delay filing an action for repossession during the fifteen days after providing notice to the tenant to allow the tenant time to agree to or attempt to schedule a mediation.

The bill also implements several restrictions on when a landlord can exercise different remedies depending on the amount of back rent that is due and the timing in relation to the governor’s eviction moratorium. Finally, the bill notes that these amendments will be repealed one year after the governor’s final eviction moratorium expires, or on December 31, 2022, whichever is sooner.  Currently, the bill is awaiting signature from the governor. 

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