10th Anniversary 

If you missed our celebratory events created to inspire restorative justice conversations, reflection and understanding—or if you want to revisit them— this page is for you.  Events began in July when we held an Open House to celebrate our new home on Beaver Street. Highlights through November included a benefit performance of Yo Miss by Judith Sloan, a panel discussion featuring keynote by Honorable Judge Nancy Torresen, and a Gala dinner program with speakers Tess Gerritsen of Camden, retired Canadian prosecutor and author Rupert Ross, and author and peace activist Michael Patrick MacDonald, supplemented by music from Noel Paul Stookey and a vibrant, heartfelt rap from Gifford Campbell. 

Songs and stories of restorative justice
 RJP Maine Gala Dinner event.
 Above left-to-right: Michael Patrick MacDonald, Noel Paul Stookey, Giff Campbell, Tess Gerritsen, Rupert Ross. Photos by Kevin Norsworthy.

Held September 17th at University of Maine’s Hutchinson Center in Belfast

Panelists joining Chief Judge Torresen were Jon Wilson, Director of JUST Alternatives and Chairman of Wooden Boat Publications; Judith Josiah-Martin, Ph.D, Director, Office of Multicultural Programs, University of Maine and Research Advisor at Smith College; Jeff Trafton, Waldo County High Sheriff, Margaret Micolichek, MPA, Restorative Justice Consultant and Kevin Martin, justice activist and student. The program was introduced by Reade Brower, entrepreneur and publisher. 

Chief Judge Torresen worked for the United States Attorney for the District of Maine and the Maine Attorney General’s office, handling both civil cases and criminal prosecutions for twenty-one years; she became the first woman to sit as an Article III judge in the District of Maine since the Court was established in 1789. 

​Since 2012, Judge Torresen has led a federal drug court program called SWITCH (Success with the Court’s Help), which brings together the United States Attorney, the Federal Defender, treatment providers and the court in an attempt to help high-risk, high-needs offenders re-enter their community, conquer their addiction and become productive members of society.