Applying Therapeutic Jurisprudence Techniques to Puerto Rican Criminal Juvenile Mediation Sessions

Abstract

Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) is an interdisciplinary practice that provides tools for the betterment of difficult and traditionally adverse or unilateral processes. Mediation creates a safe space so that parties can create constructive dialogue and become a key character of the decision making for their desired outcome. This paper explores how both disciplines collaborate from the structural standpoint to the interpersonal relationships in Puerto Rican Criminal Juvenile sessions. The article first discusses a novel court case that provoked an (unnecessary?) amendment to Puerto Rico’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations. Other relevant Puerto Rican regulations are included as groundwork of further analysis. It then explores TJ components present in some countries’ Mediation settings. Finally, it debates possible outcomes for the court case discussed at the beginning under different lenses: Mediation alone, Mediation with applied TJ, or other options, like restorative justice (RJ). The author invites the reader to think of how and in what ways TJ is already present in their respective fields of practice, so that they can work off of that when creating or working towards wants or needs.

Keywords: Therapeutic Jurisprudence, TJ, Mediation, ADR, Puerto Rico, Criminal, Juvenile, Restorative Justice