Originally from ADR and the Law - 21st Edition

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This article addresses the most important issues in preparing and presenting evidence, as well as processing facts and weighing evidence in mediation,  while paying particular attention to state and municipal public administration.
 Understanding the underlying rationale of major evidence principles informs and shapes quality fact analysis. This article explores the rationales behind the concepts of relevance, prejudice, and hearsay. It also examines the need for a broader scope of relevance in a mediation case.
It also discusses the issue of confidentiality. A particular concern of parties to mediation is what facts or statements made by the parties and the mediator will be protected, and subsequently inadmissible in court, and what information will be admissible should the case proceed to litigation. The law of confidentiality in mediation is currently a morass of conflicting doctrine, but some principles of confidentiality are clear and should be highlighted in the public administration context.