Judge Nancy Torresen to speak at restorative justice event in Belfast
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Restorative Justice Project, the University of Maine Hutchinson Center will host “Justice Matters: When We Cry for Justice, What Do We Really Mean?” from 8:30 a.m.–noon. Sept. 18.
The UMaine Peace and Reconciliation Studies program and the Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast, which promotes fundamental change in the justice system and schools, will present the event that will feature a keynote address by the Honorable Judge Nancy Torresen, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Maine.
A panel of five guests will join Torresen — Jon Wilson, director of JUST Alternatives; Judith Josiah-Martin, UMaine School of Social Work faculty; Jeffrey Trafton, Waldo County high sheriff; Margaret Micolichek, MPA, Restorative Justice consultant; and Kevin Martin, Restorative Justice advocate and UMaine student. Publisher, entrepreneur and Restorative Justice advocate Reade Brower will introduce Torresen.
The $15 registration fee may be paid at the door; students may attend free of charge. Registration information is online.
For 21 years, Torresen worked for the United States Attorney for the District of Maine and the Maine Attorney General’s office, handling civil cases and criminal prosecutions. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed her to become a federal U.S. district judge. Torresen 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, Torresen has led a federal drug court program called SWiTCH (Success with the Court’s Help) that aims to help high-risk, high-needs offenders re-enter their communities, conquer their addiction and become productive members of society.
For more information or to request a disability accommodation, contact Kim Raymond, conference services coordinator, at 338.8034, kimberly.raymond@maine.edu; or the Restorative Justice Project office at 338.2742, info@rjpmidcoast.org.