The Repeat Player Effect in Child Protection Mediation: Dangers of and Protections against Second-Class Justice for Marginalized Parties

Abstract

It has been over thirty years since Marc Galanter’s seminal piece introduced the concerns around whether repeat players control litigation results and thus limit opportunities for justice for the one shot litigants who are unfamiliar with the litigation process and have limited access to resources such as attorney representation. The question posed by this Article is whether or not the court annexed mediation process, specifically in child protection cases, is able to safeguard parties and provide one shot litigants with a more just outcome or whether it simply perpetuates the status quo of privileged repeat players in juvenile/family courts around the country — or worse, whether mediation is even a more favorable field of play for the repeat player seeking an advantage over a marginalized and/or pro se party? The article concludes with practical recommendations on how to design child protection programs in order to ensure a just outcome for all stakeholders.

Keywords: Mediation, Child Protection Mediation, Child Permanency Mediation, Dependency Mediation, Dispute System Design, ADR, Repeat Players, Family Court