The Virginia Legislature did not pass the restorative justice bill, SB 679, during this legislative session.  As I reported on Indisputably in January, the bill would have given formal structure to restorative justice programs in Virginia and would have specifically allowed a judge to order an offender into a restorative justice program. 

The story of why this bill was introduced, and why it failed to pass this year, is an interesting one.  The Senator who proposed the legislation, Emmet Hanger, had a personal experience with crime which seems to have left him both frustrated with the traditional criminal justice system and a believer in taking a more restorative approach.  Someone broke into Senator Hanger’s car and stole some items.  Senator Hanger was not pleased when the traditional justice system did not require the offender to return the items (particularly a leather jacket) or clean up the car.  

In contrast, the legislators who opposed the bill focused on not wanting to give judges the power to order restorative justice pre-conviction.  It seemed the bill would have passed had it limited the use of restorative justice processes to the post-conviction stage.  Supporters of the bill were not prepared to make that compromise because they felt it would run contrary both to the needs of those impacted by crime and current research recommendations.  I would also be concerned that such a limitation written into the law could have jeopardized existing restorative justice practices in Virginia.

Virginia has an active restorative justice community and the fact that the bill did not pass is not expected to have a negative impact on these programs.   

Members of the Restorative Justice Association of Virginia (RJAV) took the lead in lobbying for this bill, beginning their efforts in 2007. Proponents expect to introduce a similar bill in a future legislative session (the Virginia Legislature meets once a year for a limited period, which means the 2010 session is over).  The Virginia Crime Commission prepared a report on restorative justice which gives specifics of how restorative justice processes are used under the existing legislation in Virginia and an overview of current programs.  The report is available at: http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/4d54200d7e28716385256ec1004f3130/b82a3ac92f1b1fb6852576cb0059a712?OpenDocument