The Law and Older Persons: Is Geriatric Jurisprudence Therapeutic?

• Position: Book Review

by Marshall B. Kapp

Therapeutic jurisprudence is a way of exploring the ways that the practice of law, as opposed to theory, can have positive or negative effects on real people in real situations. Written by Marshall Kapp, The Law and Older Persons: Is Geriatric Jurisprudence Therapeutic? applies the questions surrounding therapeutic jurisprudence to the areas of geriatrics and gerontology, focusing on laws pertaining specifically to older persons in the United States.

Through thoroughly referenced chapters, discussion, and case examples, Kapp answers questions like:

* Is legal involvement and intervention in the lives of older persons a good thing for both the intended beneficiaries and society as a whole?

* What is therapeutic jurisprudence and why is it relevant to older Americans?

* What is the intent of the laws pertaining to older persons in such contexts as nursing home and home health care regulation...