Repairing the Harm From Clergy Sex Abuse

For the last ten years I have worked in the field of restorative justice. My students, community members, and I, along with the survivors of crimes of severe violence, regularly participate in intensive three-day healing circles we conduct in maximum-security prisons. Our MULS Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI) also facilitates victim/offender dialogues in very serious cases. My students help teachers, social workers, and students in central-city schools to develop restorative processes which address bullying and other harmful behaviors. Each experience reminds me that when serious harm has occurred, it is important to afford victims a safe environment to be able to tell others what has happened to them. People need to understand how some of their decisions and actions can send out negative ripples that have far-ranging effect. One of the most effective ways to promote that conversation is to create a facilitated talking circle in which a symbolic “talking piece” is passed from person to person. One can only speak when in possession of the “talking piece.”  These circles succeed in getting everyone present to deeply listen to each other and provide a safe environment in which to speak from the heart. I have participated in hundreds of circles through the years and still am amazed at what I learn from people through this process.

A few years ago, I started thinking about how the Catholic Church, as a community of people, really needed to look  from different perspectives at the deep-seated and far-ranging effect of the sex abuse scandal. So the RJI, with the assistance of Amy Peterson, Victim Assistance Coordinator of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, began the project of gathering people for a circle. 

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My Favorite Opinions, by a Former Justice

Having served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, I am often asked about which case was my favorite. It is always difficult to answer that question, because I liked many cases for a variety of different reasons. So I thought I would share my experience with three of them. I really enjoyed working on cases that took me into not only interesting research but other cultures. State v. Davids involved a Native American charged with the offense of fishing without a license. The real issue before the court was whether the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation, as its boundaries were defined by the Treaty of 1856, was diminished by federal legislation in 1871 and terminated by federal legislation in 1906, thereby placing the area encompassing Upper Gresham Pond under state jurisdiction and requiring all who fished there to have a valid state fishing license, including Bert Davids, an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe. That case had me dusting off old treaties and historical writings (actually my law clerk, Kathleen Rinehart, did the dusting off of the books) to better understand the various different types of agreements between the federal government and particular tribes. It became a rewarding history lesson in Indian treaties and the reasons for those agreements. I could not write the opinion without better understanding what was happening in tribal politics at the time. It became a lovely and interesting history lesson in and of itself. The conclusion of the case was that Mr. Davids indeed needed a fishing license for Upper Gresham Pond.

I also liked State v. Miller,

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Appreciating Our Professors: Chuck Clausen

Although I had many teachers who played a significant role in my development as a lawyer, a judge, and now a law professor, Professor Chuck Clausen most profoundly impacted me. His love of teaching and his unwavering commitment to his students came across in everything he did.  Chuck believed in the goodness of all people and wanted to be sure that all of us demonstrated our own personal goodness in our legal careers. He was committed to the responsibility of lawyers to help others, particularly the poor, in every way that we could.

I was fortunate enough to have Chuck for a few classes and to have him as a faculty advisor on some moot court work that I did. What I loved about Chuck is that having a conversation with him was like speaking to a renaissance man. He was so knowledgeable and engaged in so many different areas of life and of the community that I always learned something new when I was around him. His enthusiasm for life was infectious.

Because of my deep admiration for him, we continued to have contact after graduation. He truly became one of my most trusted advisors.

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