FOSTERING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE COURTS |
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| Authors: | Steven Weller John A Martin John Paul Lederach |
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| Institution: | Steven Weller, J. D., Ph. D., has more than twenty-five years of experience working with courts and justice system agencies across the country and in Australia and Mongolia to help them respond to the changing demands of society. Weller has conducted extensive national scope research on a wide range of projects involving court organization and court processes, including work on small claims courts, methods for simplifying the trial court process, indigent defense and services, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). He also has conducted research and published on developing a culturally appropriate ADR model for Latino parties and improving court handling of Latino family violence.;John A. Martin, Ph. D., has consulted nationally with courts and justice system agencies of all types (e.g., law enforcement offices, district attorney and public defender offices, municipal court to supreme courts) over the past twenty-five years. Within the past few years, Martin has facilitated numerous statewide and community long-range strategic planning efforts, completed research on developing a culturally appropriate ADR model for Latino parties and improving court handling of Latino family violence, and completed several technology studies for trial courts.;John Paul Lederach, Ph. D., is recognized internationally for developing and implementing innovative approaches to cross-cultural dispute resolution. He has worked as a mediator and mediation trainer in twelve Latin American countries including Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, as well as in Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, the Philippines, Northern Ireland, the Basque Country, and Cambodia. |
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| Abstract: | This article focuses on how mediation services can be improved to better reflect the culture-based needs and expectations of Latino litigants. The research on which this article is based was conducted in a court-attached custody and visitation program in one U. S. community with a large Latino presence. The findings, recommendations, and conclusions are based on the problems, concerns, and general expectations of more recent arrivals to the United States – for the most part mono-lingual Spanish speaking. The study found that those Latino families have needs in resolving family disputes that differ from those of most Anglo families. The justice system needs to better understand the culture of Latino family life and the ways in which Latinos interact with governmental authority. The Latino families need education, direction and representation in dealing with governmental authority. The mediator can help both the justice system and the Latino family in meeting these needs. |
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