Fair Compensation

* A panel of retired judges feels it is OK to award $88.5 million to a bunch of attorneys who won a single case against the state (“Arbitrators Reject State Request to Reduce Fees,” Dec. 29). Meanwhile, there are community mediation centers and victim-offender restitution projects all over our state resolving hundreds of cases each year while fighting to stay alive financially. Why? Because, they are told, there is no money to fund them. But there are millions of dollars to pay these attorneys. Doesn’t this seem unfair?

To correct this situation, I suggest that the attorneys be paid the $18 million the Superior Court wanted to pay them. Take the $70.5 million that’s left and put it into a money-market account. The interest from this account will fund every community mediation program and restitution project in California for years to come, allow for new programs to be started and provide minimal compensation for the hundreds of volunteer mediators who make these programs work. The result will be community dispute resolution programs that bring real justice to our neighborhoods while empowering our citizens. This investment in our people and their communities seems a much better use of tax dollars.

BARRY SIMON

Studio City