A more spiritual framework for justice
Overloaded courtrooms and excessive litigation costs rank high among the targets for legal reformers in the United States. But how do we take the burden off courts and still make sure disputes are fairly settled? As lawyer Richard Calkins examined this and related questions, he delved into a book that has some very basic things to say about disputes between people—the Bible. In this interview this former dean of Drake University Law School talks about where his study and prayer have led him—to the newly evolving profession of mediation.
Over the years I have always been proud to be a part of the finest legal system yet devised. It is one of the fairest and devotes much of its energies to protecting the poor, the downtrodden, and the minority. Yet I have seen a growing tendency toward belligerent advocacy, a win-at-all-costs mentality that serves neither our legal system nor the parties seeking to resolve their disputes. My concern led me to question my own conduct and motives and whether I was representing the legal system in a way that was in harmony with the teachings of Christ Jesus and Christian Science.
As a litigator, were you successful? By the system that exists, yes; I had some success. But I began to look more closely at some of Christ Jesus' comments about how to settle legal disputes. For instance, I noted these comments in the Sermon on the Mount: "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also." Earlier in the same sermon, Jesus says, "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison."
As a lifelong Christian Scientist, I was also not unmindful of Mrs. Eddy's words in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself,—when he shall realize God's omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind." I felt I was not loving my neighbor nor abiding by Christ Jesus' admonitions when my attitude was that I must impeach or destroy the opposition in order to win for my client.
Where did these thoughts lead you? About two and one half years ago a friend called and inquired whether I would be interested in being trained as a mediator. I initially declined, believing that a mediator functioned like an arbitrator or judge. When it was explained that a mediator is more like a "peacemaker" bringing the parties together voluntarily to resolve their disputes without having to go to court, I became extremely interested. The beatitude "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" immediately came to mind, and this appealed to me. I quickly realized that for me this was an opportunity to use my training as a lawyer and be more faithful to the commandment to love my neighbor.
I have been a mediator for two and one half years. I have mediated disputes of all kinds from family disputes and personal injury cases to antitrust and security problems. When the motive is to bring peace and amicably resolve disputes, the results are truly amazing. Over 90 percent of the cases are settled— even the most difficult cases—and all would have gone to trial without mediation. The process has been so successful that it is literally revolutionizing our American judicial system. Indeed, it has been one of the most dramatic changes in the system in this century, and it is growing rapidly.
The role of a mediator is quite different from that of an advocate or a judge? Exactly. The advocate is trained to win the case for his client, and the judge must decide who is the winner. The mediator is a neutral, independent third person who favors neither side but evenhandedly assists the parties to understand the case better and facilitate a resolution. A good mediator will not even express how he or she thinks the case should come out or what the terms of settlement should be. Instead, the mediator assists the parties to reach terms they think are fair or satisfactory. The aim is that all parties be winners.
What does your study of Christian Science contribute to your work as a mediator? Christian Science has made clear to me that God is the only lawgiver, the supreme lawgiver. We need to seek God's direction and will. I therefore prayerfully approach a mediation with the thought that each of us can be inspired to respond to a right solution, that there is no actual resistance to that which is God-directed. This approach has brought a greater sense of peace and patience within my own thought and a willingness truly to allow the higher sense of law to resolve disputes. Many times this happens in ways I would not have humanly envisioned. I find this sense of peace and patience also helps still the storm of animosity generated between the parties or among their legal representatives—an important first step to peaceful resolution.
At times when the human picture has been distressing or tragic I have had to see that man is in reality the good and pure child of God. By not allowing myself to be pulled into a false sense of sympathy with the situation, healing has resulted.
Can you give us an example of how Christian Science contributes to the way you do your work? I had a case in which one party was so severely depressed that he was unable to make any decisions. I adjourned the mediation and made an appointment to visit him at his home. I learned that he had willed himself to die. His psychiatrist and psychologist said they gave him two years to live. Learning this, I suspended the mediation altogether. Although I could not pray directly for him, I could pray to understand God's care for all His creation. I knew that the real man is spiritual, complete, free, and loved by God.
We met several times after that, and we talked about God and His love for him. Sometime later I learned he was free from depression and that he had not used drugs or medicine for that difficulty for some months. I, therefore, reconvened the mediation, and his case was later settled to the satisfaction of both parties.
Do you find yourself, in the midst of mediation, turning to God? Oh, absolutely. When I get into difficult situations where there's tremendous animosity, I do specific prayer—not to outline what the settlement should be or even to outline that there should be a settlement but to understand that because harmony is a law of God, there can be harmony in our daily experience. In seeking peace, I understand that we can seek it for both sides. If I'm there to be a peacemaker, I can help them—each party—to find a sense of harmony and be under the control of one God.
Can you give us an example? I was called to mediate an antitrust case which had been in the courts for over twenty years. From the first mediation session on, it was clear that the lawyers and the parties, after twenty years of fighting, neither trusted the other nor could say a kind word about their opponents. The night before the fourth session I began to feel a pain at the bottom of my tailbone, so much so that I found sitting most unpleasant. The next day I drove the 240 miles to the mediation site in great discomfort.
After two hours the mediation fell apart, and the plaintiffs and their attorneys threatened to leave. The defendants became even more unreasonable and the situation seemed hopeless. I finally asked for a recess and retired to my room to do specific prayerful work for myself and the mediation. It quickly dawned on me that I had not protected myself from the strong animosity existing between the parties, and I had been drawn into the melee. I prayed to know that as God's man I was innocent. I also worked to see the spiritual innocence and purity of each individual at the mediation. I knew man is obedient to God's will and love. The pain in my back abated somewhat and I returned to the meeting.
To the amazement of all, including myself, ideas began to flow and progress was made. By the time we finished the second day we had a draft of what ultimately became the settlement, which included a payment in excess of $20,000,000 to the plaintiff. This in itself was evidence of healing because the defendants had had great reluctance to pay such a sum to an organization they considered so "evil." Within hours of leaving that session, my healing was also complete, and the physical problem has never returned.
As a peacemaker you're going in and challenging conflict. You're attacking conflict. I realize that even more now. In the kind of situation I just related, I need to pray specifically and thoroughly for myself and for the situation. I don't pray for each party individually but for the harmony of the whole. When I prayed for myself and for the mediation process, I saw those present go from being absolutely furious to joking and expressing cautious optimism.
Did people make any comments about the change in atmosphere? The comment I got was, "Don't you ever get discouraged? You're always optimistic. How can you seem to be so joyful when all this is going on?" So they recognized that something positive was happening. In this case both sides recognized the positive atmosphere and commented on it. But it's one thing to be humanly positive; it's another thing to see the basis of healing in God's law. This true view brings a genuinely positive atmosphere. That's what we had when that situation turned around. I believe this requires the absolute conviction and understanding that God is in control and that His will must be done. We see His will as we recognize each participant to be the loving and beloved child of God who can obey only the one Lawgiver.
If we as mediators are peacemakers, as Christ Jesus used that term in the Beatitudes, the mediation process can have a profound effect not only on our court system but in society generally. What can be done in a legal setting can also be done within the family, school, or business. There is a crying need for peacemakers. I feel this work is an opportunity for a healing ministry.
