The U.S. District Court in Rochester was overwhelmed with cases and in need of a procedural improvement to get cases through the system, leading to a mandatory mediation program started last summer. 

The program was created by chief judge William Skretney with the goal of diminishing the backlog of cases that has led to slow results for more than two decades in the area.  A majority of civil disputes are slow to even get on the calendar, and then that backlog continues as they move through various hearings and procedures.  With more cases constantly entering the filing stage, the courts is having difficulties getting caught up, leading to even longer delays for cases filed more recently. 

The Western District of New York's Buffalo division first implemented an alternative dispute resolution program more than six years ago.  Now, the majority of civil litigants that would typically start their process with the Rochester District Court will be led to mediation first.  Some delays were a result of the fact that Congress moves slowly on judicial appointments and a lack of funds. 

Compared to the rest of the country, the areas falling under the jurisdiction for the Rochester District Court have the sixth-highest caseload and the seventh-highest number of cases for each judges.  Since criminal proceedings guarantee defendants the opportunity to receive a speedy trial, other civil cases are pushed back, and it's common for a case to take months or even years to reach a final decision. 

This development was spurred by the success of the program in Buffalo.   The mediation program for Buffalo currently has a 76% success rate when parties are forced to attempt to work things out prior to entering the court system.  If implemented properly, this program has the potential to cut down on the number of cases on the court's schedule and get results much more quickly for disputing parties.