The Question [do you feel a little like Johnny Carson’s Carnac The Magnificent?]: Am I still required to be a Florida lawyer or retired trial judge to be a Circuit Court Mediator???On May 11, 2006 the Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion in In Re: Petition of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policy Committee on Amendments to Florida Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators, 931 So.2d 877 [Fla. 2006] and adopted the new point system for certification as follows:
“We support the new point system in concept and can foresee no drawback to moving to a more practical and non-profession-based point system for certified county court, family, and dependency mediators. However, we are hesitant, at this time, without input from The Florida Bar, to remove the current requirement that a certified circuit court mediator must be a member of The Florida Bar or a retired trial judge from any United States jurisdiction. Therefore, we have modified the point requirements for circuit court mediators to retain this requirement for the time being, pending input from The Florida Bar.”
You can read The Florida Bar’s input here and the ADR Rules and Policy Committee’s response [filed Friday, September 8, 2006].
Now, we wait!
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