The Restorative Justice (RJ) Workshop Course Description:
The Restorative Justice (RJ) Workshop immerses students in the philosophy, history, and practice of restorative justice as a response to harm, trauma, and conflict. Grounded in Indigenous traditions and adapted worldwide in justice systems, schools, and communities, RJ emphasizes healing, accountability, and the restoration of relationships.
Students will engage directly with people who bring lived experience, examine international and local models, and participate in team-based projects. Together, they will explore restorative practices such as victim-offender dialogue, community conferencing, impact panels, and circle processes. The course invites students to wrestle with both the promise and the ethical challenges of RJ, particularly within the American criminal and juvenile justice systems, while reflecting on their own professional identity and legal ethics. Working in teams, students will design and facilitate a restorative circle focused on harm and healing, presenting their process and insights to the class.
Restorative Justice Clinic
The Restorative Justice Clinic (RJC) is an in-house clinical program of Marquette Law School’s Andrew Center for Restorative Justice. It provides students with supervised, hands-on experience in restorative justice practices—including victim-offender dialogue, healing circles, and community conferencing—while encouraging reflection, ethical lawyering, and community-centered problem-solving. Students earn academic credit through a combination of fieldwork and classroom learning.
The clinic operates at the intersection of law, healing, and justice. It is designed to prepare students for legal practice that engages trauma, conflict, and harm with humility, accountability, and empathy. Through this work, students become more attuned to justice systems that honor the voices of all impacted parties.
Learning Objectives
The Restorative Justice Clinic is designed to prepare students to engage in legal practice that centers healing, accountability, and community trust. Upon completion of the clinic, students will demonstrate competence in the following areas:
Professionalism and Ethics
- Think critically about and demonstrate the professional and ethical responsibilities required as lawyers
- Practice restorative values such as dignity, accountability, and integrity
- Maintain respectful and inclusive relationships with clients, community members, and peers
- Reflect on the role of the lawyer as a facilitator of healing and social justice
Restorative Practice
- Understand and articulate key restorative justice principles, especially the circle process framework
- Participate in and/or facilitate healing circles, community conferences, and victim-offender dialogues
- Apply trauma-informed and culturally responsive restorative practices in legal and community contexts
- *Participate in a 3-day restorative justice circle at Racine Correctional in Racine, WI.
Communication and Problem-Solving
- Effectively communicate with clients, decision-makers, and other stakeholders to solve problems, including how to address harm, resolve conflict, and support healing
- Use deep listening and nonjudgmental dialogue to foster trust, understanding, and accountability
- Translate restorative practices into accessible language for diverse audiences
Critical Thinking and Legal Judgment
- Identify legal, relational, and community concerns underlying incidents of harm or conflict
- Evaluate restorative options in light of justice system dynamics and broader social implications
- Analyze how law, systems, and policies impact individual and community well-being
Professional Identity and Reflective Practice
- Develop a professional identity rooted in restorative values and client-centered advocacy
- Recognize the challenges confronting the poor, marginalized, and under-represented in society, as observed through our restorative settings.
- Reflect intentionally on personal growth, biases, values, and the kind of lawyer you aspire to be, as well as the principles that are foundational for successful legal practice.
- Recognize the challenges confronting the poor, marginalized, and under-represented in society, as observed through our restorative settings.
Project Design and Implementation
- Work in teams of two to design and facilitate a restorative justice circle at the Community Reintegration Center or the Milwaukee Women’s Correctional Center, and complete a reflective paper on your experience
- Independently research and develop a restorative justice initiative
- Deliver a final presentation or written product on your initiative that demonstrates insight, impact, and application of clinic experience
Course Requirements
- Credits: 2
- Grading: Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory
- Time Commitment: 120 hours (includes class sessions, fieldwork, projects, and reflection papers)
- Prerequisites: None (students must have completed at least 28 credits)
Students who have not completed the Restorative Justice Workshop must contact Professor Triggiano before registering for the Clinic.
Classroom & Fieldwork:
Students meet Mondays from 4:00–6:10 p.m. (Monday sessions may extend for community-facilitated dialogues) and complete fieldwork during the week as schedules allow.
*Each semester, students may also participate in a three-day restorative justice circle at Racine Correctional Institution (7:45 a.m.–4:20 p.m., Wednesday–Friday; dates TBD).