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).
(1) The purposes of the restorative justice grant programs are to: (a) promote the use of restorative justice practices throughout the state; and (b) provide technical assistance to local and state jurisdictions and organizations interested in implementing the principles of…
participation in a restorative justice program approved by court order and payment of a participation fee of up to $150 for program expenses if the program agrees to accept the offender;
Sentencing practices should promote and support practices, policies, and programs that focus on restorative justice principles.
Mediators and restorative justice facilitators of approved centers shall have completed at least thirty hours of basic mediation training, including conflict resolution techniques, neutrality, agreement writing, and ethics. An initial apprenticeship with an experienced mediator shall be required for at…
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…
(a) Except when a sentence of life imprisonment is required by law, or when a mandatory minimum sentence is required by section 609.11, any court may stay imposition or execution of sentence and: (1) may order intermediate sanctions without placing…
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,…
2. The report of the presentence investigation or preparole investigation shall contain any prior criminal record of the defendant and such information about his or her characteristics, his or her financial condition, his or her social history, the circumstances affecting…
8. Courts shall retain discretion to lower or exceed the sentence recommended by the commission as otherwise allowable by law, and to order restorative justice methods, when applicable. 9. If the imposition or execution of a sentence is suspended, the…
2. In addition to such other authority as exists to order conditions of probation, the court may order such conditions as the court believes will serve to compensate the victim, any dependent of the victim, any statutorily created fund for…