Art. 5A.014 REFERRAL TO MEDIATION, ARBITRATION, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, OR SIMILAR PROCEDURE PROHIBITED IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION

If a criminal case involves family violence, the judge cannot send the victim or the defendant to mediation, arbitration, or any similar process to work out the case. This holds true even if other rules might normally allow it, like when a defendant pleads guilty or is placed on probation.

The idea behind this rule is to protect victims of family violence. Mediation and similar processes usually work by having both sides sit down and negotiate a compromise. Lawmakers decided this is not appropriate in family violence cases, since it could put pressure on the victim or put them in a difficult position with their abuser. So the court has to handle these cases through the regular criminal justice process, not through mediation or arbitration.