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The business of a court involves assisting citizens with resolving disputes, whether they entail family matters, commercial transactions, or personal injuries. Likely, most people have some familiarity with the traditional means of resolving disputes in court: the hearing, or the trial. The trial is what we typically read about in the newspaper or view on television. Leading up to and through trial, parties, represented by counsel or on their own, argue their positions to a magistrate or judge and receive a binding decision. Traditionally, communications and practices leading up to trial are adversarial in nature and result in one party winning and the other party losing. For quite some time, however, courts have shown a clear trend in moving away from parties resolving disputes by trial. In fact, nationwide, about 97% of all civil cases are resolved through some type of settlement or judicial process before the trial date ever arrives. This court now offers additional, alternative processes to help parties resolve disputes. A pamphlet entitled Resolving Your Dispute Without Going to Trial, which outlines the ADR process and how you can take advantage of it, is available from the ADR clerk, or you may download it from http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/publications/pamphlets/ADRbrochure.PDF.
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