*This is a re-post of a blog post on my office’s website: waughlawandmediation.com from April 14, 2016.
At the end of my M.A. program at EMU, I presented my final project on restorative justice.
Restorative justice is another way of looking at criminal wrongdoing. We can compare restorative justice to retributive justice. In a retributive system, we look at what law was broken and what sanctions will be imposed. In restorative justice, the inquiry determines how someone has been harmed and what we can do to meet their needs.
Many readers may associate restorative justice with specific programs. However, in many places where I practice, including the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, there is no formal restorative justice program. Rather, some victims (and offenders) choose to supplement or substitute restorative justice processes to the conventional judicial process.
Victim Offender Conference. Sometimes, victims have questions that they want to pose to an offender. They may want to talk to the offender and ask why the offender acted as they did or find out whether or not the offender’s life has been adversely changed by the crime. Sometimes offenders want to meet with victims or their families to apologize for wrongdoing. Other victims never want to see or hear from the offender, under any circumstances. We have had a few cases in the Eastern Panhandle when the victim and the offender both wanted to meet, face to face. The process involves, at least, one preparatory private meeting with a specially trained facilitator, and then the meeting. There are sometimes meetings after the conference as well. Professor Zehr and Lorraine Stuzman-Amstutz have created an information brochure about victim-offender conferencing that can be located here. http://www.emu.edu/cjp/publications/all/victim-offender-conferencing-manual/victim-offender-conf-manual.pdf.
This photo is from my capstone presentation as I prepared to graduate from the Center for Justice and Peace in 2009.
Family Group Conferencing. In New Zealand, http://www.cyf.govt.nz/youth-justice/family-group-conferences.htmlwhen an offender is a juvenile, the system offers most offenders the option of participating in a family group conference, rather than the conventional judicial process. In the family group conference, interested individuals such as the family, neighbors, church members, mental health professionals, and school professionals, meet together to develop a comprehensive plan to remedy the problems that led to the wrongdoing. While we do not have a formal program in West Virginia, I’ve had the opportunity to convene a modified version of these conferences less formally, but good participation and success. It’s a great option for some families! To learn more about family group conferencing Professor Zehr has co-authored a basic book that can be ordered here: http://zehr-institute.org/book/the-little-book-of-family-group-conferences/.
At the end of my M.A. program at EMU, I presented my final project on restorative justice. Professor Zehr is in the audience, along with other colleagues. I presented on the topic of “Restorative Lawyering.” My presentation describes ways that lawyers can best work to meet the needs of their clients, whether they have suffered a civil or criminal injury or whether they are drafting a will or a prenuptial agreement. I presented my initial steps in finding a way to practice law that would focus on both the needs and the rights of clients. I was seeking a practice that would value the participation of all stakeholders and allow for us to collaborate in finding resolutions. I wanted to find a way that the law could do more than establish penalties and promote adversarial ways to address our problems.
*This is a re-post of a blog post on my office’s website: waughlawandmediation.com from April 14, 2016.