Judicial Arbitration in California

A study of the critical implementation phase of the California judicial arbitration program. The report begins by identifying the primary objectives of the program's supporters. The authors then describe the historical background of the adoption of mandatory arbitration in California, and the evolution of the program's design. The results of the exploratory analysis of the program's effects are then presented. Arbitration's potential for reducing court workload is examined. The costs of operating the program during the first year are analyzed and an approach to estimating the program's potential effect on court costs is presented. A discussion of the effects of arbitration on litigants, focusing on time to disposition, costs of litigation, and equity is given. The final section summarizes the findings and discusses how certain groups are likely to respond to the program in the future. The section concludes with a discussion of the research that will be needed for a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of the judicial arbitration program.