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Against the Grain: Therapeutic Judging in a Traditional Family Court

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Vicki Lens
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Abstract

The last several decades have seen a proliferation of specialized courts, including within the family court system, that deviate from the adversarial model, and that rely on therapeutic jurisprudence and other problem-solving techniques. Whether and how traditional family courts can incorporate the best practices of these specialized courts is a largely understudied area. Drawing from ethnographic observations of a traditional urban family court, this study finds that some judges are able to transform nontherapeutic courtrooms into therapeutic ones despite obstacles. These “against the grain” actors, who act contrary to the institution's dominant norms and practices, demonstrate how therapeutic jurisprudence and other problem-solving techniques can be utilized in traditional courtrooms.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , Summer 2016 , pp. 701 - 718
Copyright
Copyright © American Bar Foundation, 2016 

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