Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
The conception of simple, informal, lawyerless courts where ordinary people can settle their affairs amicably without expense, delay, technicality, or contentiousness has fascinated Americans since colonial times. This theme can be seen running through the movements to codify the law, simplify legal procedure, open the practice of law to Everyman, create conciliation courts; the creation of the small claims courts and administrative tribunals; and attempts in the 1960s and 1970s to divert small matters out of the courts altogether and into Neighborhood Justice Centers and other informal dispute resolution mechanisms.
The long and complex history of reform has been characterized by cyclical shifts in emphasis between two principal modes of characterizing small claims. One mode characterizes small claims as petty private quarrels and has led to attempts to supply justice by aiding fair outcomes between the particular parties. Since no broader social impact of the dispute is seen, the most efficient possible individual level response is viewed as appropriate. The other mode perceives small claims as particular instances of important systematic injustices between social groups or classes and has led to attempts to use small claims processing as the forum for making important policy. Perceiving broad social impact of the resolution of small claims, one will see a mobilization of aggregate resources to deal with them as important social problems as appropriate.
As a result, entire classes of cases and issues may be skimmed off and dealt with collectively as important social-legal problems. When this occurs the perception of the small claims that remain shifts to the other mode, and they are viewed as less important residual petty quarrels meriting less attention and resources. This periodic skimming off of certain claims and waning of collective attention to the remaining mass of claims has introduced a cyclical element into the development of small claims courts (and other legal reforms). Thus the mode of preceiving small claims itself conditions the mode of legal response which is advocated.
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(Conciliation courts] go very far to repress litigation, and speedily to arrange those controversies that sometimes spring up between very honest and well meaning men, without the costs and delays attending upon a litigation in our courts. Mr. W[orden] said he only doubted whether such could be made applicable to the state of things existing in our State, and the nature of all the various dealings between individuals, or to all questions that arise out of our extensive mercantile transactions; but there were a class of cases which he said he believed could with great propriety and advantage be referred to these courts. And with leave of the Convention, Mr. W. said he would state the mode of procedure in Courts of Conciliation, and the cases that, in his opinion, might be brought to an end and wisely disposed of in these courts. A court of conciliation where they are in existence, is organized in this way—there are two, intelligent and honest men appointed to hear the complaints and allegations of the parties, who appear before the court without the aid of lawyers, and each states his case and the points and questions of controversy existing between them, and the facts on which they base their claims. The judges of the court hear their statements, and take into consideration the rights of the parties, and advise them in regard thereto and make efforts to bring them to a conciliation. No witnesses appear in court, nor are counsel or attorneys employed; and nothing that takes place is ever admitted in evidence between the parties elsewhere. If the parties agree, a statement of the agreement is reduced to writing, signed by the parties and the court, and time fixed for the payment of the amount agreed on, for which, if not paid as agreed, the court issues execution very similar to that from our justice's court. Mr. W. said he thought courts of this description could be organized in the towns, wherein parties residing in such towns should be compelled, before going to law, to make efforts to settle their difficulties; and, as in the countries where those courts exist, the parties should not be permitted to recover costs unless they had made an effort to conciliate their differences in the court of conciliation of the town. It is true these courts do not act compulsor[il]y, but by prohibiting the parties from recovering costs unless [they make] an effort to conciliate [their] differences, it operates to enforce the parties into that court; and it is found that the moral sense of the community in favor of a peaceful adjustment of difficulties, induces parties to seek that mode of doing so. In this way neighborhood difficulties—personal controversies—that now disturb communities, and call in aid courts and juries, are settled and put an end to… . The subject was worthy of consideration, and if it could be so arranged as to reach to the suppression of litigation and to the adjustment of controversies, it would do much towards repressing the spirit of litigation, and the costs and vexation attendant upon long and protracted legal controversies, which often had no other result than the ruin of those engaged in them.Google Scholar
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