EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION.
ARTICLES.
Mediation Windfalls: Value Beyond Settlement? The Perspectives of Georgia Magistrate Court Judges (Ansley B. Barton)
Magistrates reveal their perception of the impact of mediation on pro se litigants in small claims court. This qualitative research examines whether magistrates believe that prior mediation exposure affects the litigants’ court experience, and if so, whether the impact is related to litigants’ access to counsel or demographic characteristics.
Can Online Mediation Be Transformative? Tales from the Front (Susan Summers Raines)
With increasing reliance on online dispute resolution, there are questions about whether different mediation styles are equally effective. The author proposes that aspects of transformative mediation may be well-suited to ODR.
COLLOQUY.
Couple Empowerment in Divorce: A Comparison of Mediated and Nonmediated Outcomes (Jo Daugherty Bailey, Susan P. Robbins)
Proponents of mediation in custody and divorce cases often argue its superiority because of the increasing empowerment of disputants to dictate outcomes. This study of 120 mediated and nonmediated cases examines differences in final decree in terms of final agreement regarding living and visitation arrangements for minor children.
Using the “Mediatable Frame” to Define the Problem in Mediating a Parenting Plan (Michael Benjamin,Howard H. Irving)
Focusing on their model of therapeutic family mediation, the authors introduce the idea of the “mediatable frame” and discuss the implications for mediation practice from TFM orientations.
Victim Needs and Conjugal Violence: Do Victims Want Decision-Making Power? (Jo-Anne Wemmers, Marie-Marthe Cousineau)
Victims of domestic violence are often subject to procedures that take decision-making power away, such as no-drop and mandatory arrest policies. Critics of these policies argue that they further disempower victims of domestic violence. This article reviews research to answer the question, “Do victims of domestic violence want to retain decision-making power?”
Family Mediation: The Development of the Regulatory Framework in the United Kingdom (Marian Roberts)
The article traces the development of the regulatory framework for family mediation practice in the UK, exploring some of the central tensions that have shaped emergence of family mediation as a distinct and autonomous professional intervention. It raises questions of policy and practice for those grappling with the quality assurance of a uniquely paradoxical professional intervention.
RESEARCH MATTERS.
Restorative Justice Responses to Post–September 11 Hate Crimes: Potential and Challenges (Maria R.Volpe, Staci Strobl)
The research reported in this article explores the promises and challenges of restorative justice used in response to hate or bias crimes occurring after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
INDEX TO VOLUME.
