Therapeutic Jurisprudence (“TJ”) looks at the law and legal systems as potential therapeutic (or anti-therapeutic) agents for the lives of people and communities. Under TJ, the "law" consists of legal rules and procedures as well as the practices and techniques of legal actors (judges, lawyers, therapists and others) working in a legal environment. In the criminal … Continue reading Tips for using therapeutic jurisprudence to improve mainstream criminal courts
Tips for Procedural Fairness in Court (TJ Court Craft Series #7)
The Centre for Court Innovation describes procedural justice/ procedural fairness as: ...the perceived fairness of the procedures and interpersonal communications that defendants and other litigants experience in the courthouse and courtroom, as distinguished from distributive justice, which refers to the impressions derived from case outcomes (i.e. whether the litigant ultimately “won” or “lost” the case). … Continue reading Tips for Procedural Fairness in Court (TJ Court Craft Series #7)
Can therapeutic jurisprudence improve family/child neglect/child protection courts?
Dr Vicki Lens explores how therapeutic jurisprudence principles might improve interactions between judges and child welfare caseworkers and produce better outcomes for children and families ... Much of the literature on therapeutic jurisprudence (T.J.) focuses on the targets of legal action. Courtroom exchanges, though, are less a duet between a judge and a respondent or … Continue reading Can therapeutic jurisprudence improve family/child neglect/child protection courts?
The Trauma of the (Sexual Assault) Trial and its Inhospitable Rituals
In this blog Dr Elaine Craig, Associate Professor Dalhousie University - Schulich School of Law, Nova Scotia, Canada reflects on the rituals of criminal trials and explores whether Therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) principles can make inhospitable trials hospitable... Despite decades of progressive law reforms to the criminal law and the rules of evidence, fear of the criminal … Continue reading The Trauma of the (Sexual Assault) Trial and its Inhospitable Rituals
Five reasons why we need solution-focused approaches in courts
Guest blogger Michelle Edgely writes ... There are five cogent reasons why governments interested in evidence based policies should support solution-focused methods for dealing with drug-addicted and mentally impaired recidivist offenders in criminal courts: Rehabilitative sentencing is nothing new. Courts traditionally sentence offenders to achieve the balance appropriate to the case at hand of proportionate punishment, … Continue reading Five reasons why we need solution-focused approaches in courts
The ISTJ Blog 