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Judicial Settlement-Seeking In Parenting Cases: A Mock Trial, Noel Semple

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This paper critically evaluates judicial mediation in parenting disputes by asking whether, and to what extent, it is in the best interests of the children involved. It begins by identifying several features that distinguish child custody and visitation disputes from other types of civil litigation, and which are relevant to the normative analysis of judicial mediation in this context. Next, this paper describes and evaluates three arguments that might be made against the use of judicial settlement-seeking to resolve custody and visitation disputes. This paper will conclude by arguing that facilitative mediation by non-judges has significant advantages over judicial settlement-seeking …