ABSTRACT
In this chapter I draw on my experience as a District Court Judge and Family Court Judge for the last 16 years. Family violence, including intimate partner violence, regrettably forms a substantial part of the daily diet of these courts. It presents at court in a variety of ways. Judicial experience and the following scenarios demonstrate how court processes are all too often neither timely nor necessarily appropriate responses. Restorative justice, on the other hand, offers another option. However, real caution is necessary when embarking on a restorative justice process because of the risks associated with it.
