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In support of restorative justice programming
I had the pleasure of serving as a public member of the special
Legislative Council Committee on Faith-Based Approaches to Crime
Prevention and Justice. While I do not always agree with Rep. Jensen, I
appreciate his leadership in convening a legislative forum that explored
new and creative options for communities in their fight against
crime.
I was pleased to read in the May Wisconsin Lawyer of Rep.
Jensen's recognition
of restorative justice as "one of the most intriguing" ideas to come
out of the committee. Indeed, the restorative justice provision - which
created prosecutor positions in three counties to develop restorative
justice programming - would have affected far more people than the other
provisions of AB
533.
The potential impact of restorative justice programming from a
prosecutor's office is immense. Prosecutors are in the unique position
to work collaboratively with the victims of crime, the affected
community, and offenders - in conjunction with defense counsel.
Prosecutors in these positions could have worked on developing the
victim-offender dialog programs discussed by Rep. Jensen, and community
impact panels or accountability boards. The prosecutor in Austin, Texas,
has relied upon this model, which allows residents of a neighborhood to
play an active role in determining what an offender needs to do to make
things right after committing an offense. The panels help create
stronger community bonds, which in turn help prevent crime. Thus, the
criminal justice system is actively assisting communities to focus on
the future, and not simply punishing offenders for wrongdoing.
I hope that the Wisconsin Legislature revisits the concept of
restorative justice next session. I urge members of the Bar to support
funding for restorative justice prosecutors, should such a provision be
introduced next legislative session.
David Lerman
Assistant District Attorney
Milwaukee County
Wisconsin
Lawyer
