Andrew Center for
Restorative Justice
Explore the
Andrew Center for
Restorative Justice
for information on:
Introduction to Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice provides an opportunity to bring a sense of reconciliation and responsibility to victims and offenders when there is conflict and oftentimes harm, as opposed to the concept of retributive justice on which many criminal justice systems are premised.
Restorative Justice seeks to resolve the harm, not exonerate the offender. It seeks to provide a resolution for the victim through a process that oftentimes includes meeting with the offender in a dialogue or Circle. It seeks to offer opportunity for forgiveness, reconciliation, and ideally restoration of broken relationships. In order to be successful, Restorative Justice endeavors rely on a willingness of participants (victims and offenders) to , in good faith, resolve their conflict. It is about victims seeking resolution to harm, and offenders accepting responsibility for their actions in an effort to return to a sense of restored order.
Restorative Justice also frequently involves reestablishing a sense of community wholeness. Community is defined both as an established community, such as a tribe, village or classroom; or as those who may have been indirectly impacted by the actions of the offender. So, for example, one could define community as including the person who is afraid to leave their home because of a violent action a few blocks away. Community could include the sibling, parent or friend of a victim. Basically, community includes anyone who been impacted in some way by the actions of the offender.
In this guide, you will find a tab labeled Books & Other Resources, which provides links to a comprehensive list of books and videos that are available at or through the Marquette University Eckstein Law Library and Raynor Memorial Libraries.
Under the U.S. Federal tab you will find information on U.S. Statutes and Regulations that include the term "restorative justice".
The States Legislation tab provides listings of state statutes that make reference to restorative justice and restorative justice concepts.
Restorative Justice has a strong emphasis in Native American cultures (both U.S. and Canada). Under the Native American Restorative Justice tab you will find information from U.S. Federal Administrative history, U.S. Legislative history, books with an international scope, which also discuss Native American Restorative Justice, North American books, books with focus on U.S. Native American tribes, Canadian tribes, Law Reviews and other periodical articles.
Restorative Justice also has a very strong presence in schools, especially in elementary and high schools. The Schools & Education tab provides links to Federal Bills that are related specifically to Restorative Justice in schools. This also includes a tab on state legislation, books & treatises, and a number of videos that also focus on or mention restorative justice in school settings.
There are many other resources, containing a significant amount of information on Restorative Justice. Given the dynamic nature of research, any individual research guide probably could not cover everything. That said, you may want to search MARQCAT, or MARQCAT Plus, considering terminology that may include:
Finally, please be aware that this research guide is dynamic in its own right, and so will be changing as it is being developed. Please feel free to contact the owner with your own thoughts on how it can be a better resource.
Reference librarians
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Phone: 414-288-3837
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Library Service Hours vary from Eckstein Hall Building Hours. If you require help from the reference librarians or the library staff at the circulation desk, be sure to plan your visit during Library Service Hours.
