[WikiEN-l] Arbcom

[Thomas Dalton]

> Say, Fred. Since you're a retired lawyer, are there any other approaches
> we might borrow from real-world court systems?
>
> For example, some of the suggestions that have gone by sound vaguely
> similar to my very limited understanding of the way US appeal courts
> manage workload. Perhaps there's something we could learn from them?
>
> I also wonder if there other tricks we could borrow, like the special
> focus that juvenile or drug courts have. Or the limited scope of a
> small-claims court.
>
> Since I know relatively little about either courts or the workings of
> ArbCom, this may be crazy talk. But I thought I'd ask.

I think most real courts have one judge per case. It's only when you
reach the highest level that you get tried by the entire bench (or, at
least, a selection from it). One judge only works when you have clear
laws that have right and wrong answers, and you have a jury to
determine points of fact. We could introduce a jury system to
Wikipedia, but I don't think it would work - the population is too
small, and we have no way to make jury duty compulsory (if you pick 12
Wikipedians at random from those active and willing to serve, you
stand too great a chance of some of them being involved, or at least
knowing the parties).