The headline in Monday’s TGI asked, “Why go to court if you can avoid it?” Why, indeed. Kaua’i residents who aren’t able to avoid some relatively minor legal trouble — either because they’re innocent victims or, for whatever reason, can’t
The headline in Monday’s TGI asked, “Why go to court if you can avoid it?” Why,
indeed.
Kaua’i residents who aren’t able to avoid some relatively minor
legal trouble — either because they’re innocent victims or, for whatever
reason, can’t keep their noses clean — and would prefer not winding up in a
courtroom over it, can try to get things worked out in mediation through a
program that sounds almost too good to be true, but is true
nonetheless.
Called the Kaua’i Criminal Diversion Project, the program
takes on selected cases involving misdemeanor offenses, mostly burglaries and
other property crimes. It’s up to defendants and victims if they enter
mediation. The decision seems easy, though, since there’s virtually nothing to
lose. If an agreement satisfactory to all parties is reached, the defendant’s
record is cleared. If not, the case goes back into the court system, where it
would have gone, anyway.
Circuit Court Judge Clifford Nakea, one of the
forward-thinking legal authorities and others who put the program together,
noted the diversion method can give victims a sense of justice and put the onus
of responsibility squarely on the defendants. Nothing against the courts, but
not all cases that go the more traditional route end up with everybody feeling
the way Nakea describes. If this new program helps people feel that justice has
been served, then more power to it.
There’s nothing wrong with hearing
something other than “Here comes the judge.”
