Judge turns to child's play.

A federal judge in Florida recently borrowed from the culture of the schoolyard to resolve a dispute between two lawyers in an insurance lawsuit: He ordered them to "convene at a neutral location" and "engage in one game of rock, paper, scissors." The judge, Gregory A. Presnell of Federal District Court in Orlando, called his innovation "a new form of alternative dispute resolution." The two attorneys in the case had been unable to agree on a location for taking a deposition (testimony given outside court) from a witness. Presnell's order called for the lawyers to hold their rock-paper-scissors showdown on the courthouse steps if they were unable to agree on a location for the game as well. But the adversaries got together the next day and quickly agreed on a location for the deposition. So as not to be held in contempt of the judge's order, the lawyers filed a motion asking him to call off the game. Judge Presnell responded: "With civility restored (at least for now), it is ordered that the motion is granted."