Restorative Justice

My approach to justice focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders while taking community safety into account. Community involvement and partnerships are essential to facilitate positive outcomes. While social justice focuses on the well-being of the whole community, restorative justice takes a more focused approach to repair harm created by crimes. Restorative justice can sometimes foster a dialogue between victims and offenders, resulting in higher rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability.

Judges have the opportunity and responsibility to identify problems at their root and apply evidence-based interventions that work to fix these problems. In doing this, I will thoughtfully weigh the rights of individuals with the needs of the community to find fair and just solutions. In my view, this is how we can reduce the revolving door of the justice system and help guide justice-involved people on to a more productive life.

Early intervention is good crime prevention. As a former probation and parole officer with over two decades of experience, I am very familiar with Missoula’s community resources.

Using screening and risk assessments helps identify criminogenic factors that need to be addressed. DUI courts make our streets safer and reduce recidivism. There is strong evidence showing that interventions targeting risk factors can be effective in reducing crime and other social problems.

Usually mental health and chemical dependency issues are best dealt with in the community setting. While being mindful that community safety is the highest priority, using resources other than jail reduces costs and can interrupt the criminal cycle, resulting in less damage to families and children who are impacted by crime and few victims.