The National Center on Restorative Justice’s Restorative Justice Laws Database was created as a resource for restorative justice advocates, practitioners, and researchers as well as policy-makers across the United States. Our aim is to organize and display in an easily navigated format the ways in which states have codified the use of restorative justice approaches.
Thank you to Shannon Sliva (University of Denver) and Thalia González (UC Law San Francisco) for their advisement and expertise throughout the process of creating this database. Thank you to Karen Sheu and Anna VanRoy for their data collection work.
This Restorative Justice Laws Database builds on an earlier legislative directory created in 2014 by Shannon Sliva in partnership with Carolyn Lambert (Georgia State University College of Law) and hosted by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work from 2019 to 2024.
The laws included in this database were identified by conducting a search in Westlaw and LexisNexis using the terms visible under “Form of Practice” in the database search options below. Only laws that feature one or more of these terms are included in the database. Use of the terms in the text of the law does not necessarily mean that restorative justice practice is occurring in the given jurisdiction.
The NCORJ is committed to continuing to update this database. If you see something that is missing or a correction is required, please be in touch. For more information about the development of the database, to get assistance navigating it, or to request a copy of the raw data for research purposes, please contact Lindsey Pointer (lpointer@vermontlaw.edu).
b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a defendant may participate in victim-offender mediation authorized by Section 508.324 on the request of the victim or a guardian of the victim or a close relative of a deceased victim.
(a) Mediation is a forum in which an impartial person, the mediator, facilitates communication between parties to promote reconciliation, settlement, or understanding among them. (b) A mediator may not impose his own judgment on the issues for that of the…
(a) A victim-offender mediation center may be created and operated by a corporation organized to resolve disputes. The corporation shall not be organized for profit and no part of the net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private…
Victim and offender mediation services” means services designed to provide victims the opportunity for a meeting to ask questions, express feelings, or discuss restitution agreements with the convicted offenders or delinquent juveniles involved in the crimes against such victims.
Unless the offense is one in which a petition is required by G.S. 7B-1701(a), upon a finding of legal sufficiency the juvenile court counselor may divert the juvenile pursuant to a diversion plan, which may include referring the juvenile to…
5. In communities where local volunteer community boards are established at the request of the court, the following guidelines apply: (1) The department shall provide a program of training to eligible volunteers and develop specific conditions of a probation program…
The agency shall adopt policies, rules, and regulations that improve crime victim satisfaction with the criminal justice system, including all of the following: […] (e) Facilitating victim-offender dialogue if the victim is willing.
Subdivision 1. Definition. As used in this section, “restorative practices” means a practice within a program or policy that incorporates core restorative principles, including but not limited to voluntariness, prioritization of agreement by the people closest to the harm on…
Subdivision 1. Grants. The executive director of the Office of Justice Programs in the Department of Public Safety shall award grants to nonprofit organizations to create or expand mediation programs for crime victims and offenders. For purposes of this section,…
(1) A school board or its designee shall consider using restorative practices as an alternative or in addition to suspension or expulsion under this act. If a school board or its designee suspends or expels a pupil under this act,…