Michigan Dem Christina Hines Created Program Allowing Diversion for Serious Felonies

Michigan Democrat Christina Hines helped establish a restorative justice program in Washtenaw County that allows defendants accused of serious felonies, including home invasion and assault with intent to do great bodily harm, to be considered for alternatives to incarceration.

Hines pioneered the Washtenaw County Restorative Justice Program in 2021 while serving as the county’s first assistant prosecutor under Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit. 

According to Washtenaw County’s restorative justice policy, the program consists of three primary elements:

The person who committed harm acknowledges the harm done and takes responsibility. The person who committed harm, and the person harmed, voluntarily work together and agree to a plan in which amends can be made. The person who committed the harm, and all affected parties who desire to do so, work together to determine the root causes of the harm and develop a plan to ensure that the harm will not reoccur.

The program allows eligible criminal cases to be considered for diversion after formal charges have been filed by the prosecutor’s office. Home invasion, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, and other serious felony offenses are not categorically excluded and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Hines described Washtenaw County’s Restorative Justice Program as the first of its kind in Michigan in a December 2023 article for the Michigan Bar Journal.

“Many adult criminal cases are referrable, with exceptions for sexual assault, victimization of children, intimate partner violence, and other cases where the prosecutor determines the defendant poses a public safety risk such as homicides or cases involving gun violence,” Hines wrote.

“Restorative justice is an approach to address conflict and misconduct that focuses on healing rather than punishment and values accountability over exclusion,” she added.

An October 2022 court order establishing the program states, “The Court encourages residents of this County to employ restorative justice practices, not only in justiciable matters, but in all aspects of life and law.”

The order also provides that criminal cases may be diverted to the Restorative Justice Program after they have been formally charged by the prosecutor’s office.

A September 2021 Washtenaw County Legal News article discussing Washtenaw County’s initiative pointed to New York City’s Common Justice program, which specifically handles serious and violent felonies, including assault and robbery. “The experience in other communities has demonstrated that crime survivors often prefer restorative justice as an alternative to the traditional criminal legal system. New York City maintains a robust restorative-justice program administered by Common Justice,” the article stated.

Research has identified concerns about victims’ experiences with restorative justice.

A 2012 study examining victim-offender mediation found instances in which victims experienced marginalization, intimidation, and pressure during mediation proceedings.

“The findings of the current study indicate that these [RJ] principles were compromised in each case to some extent,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers identified victim-sensitive or victim-centered practices as the most commonly overlooked principle. In certain cases, mediators encouraged victims to “keep things positive” rather than share the depth of the personal and family impacts of the crime. Some victims felt threatened by offenders or their families, while others felt pressured to accept apologies.

The study also found that victims were sometimes inadequately prepared for mediation, pressured by mediators to behave in certain ways, or occasionally intimidated by offenders and/or their families.

Hines joined the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office shortly after Prosecutor Eli Savit took office in January 2021 and was appointed county first assistant prosecutor. An October 2021 report from the Ann Arbor Independent stated that Hines had six years of experience when she received the appointment, advancing ahead of several attorneys in the office with considerably more experience.

Savit campaigned on a progressive criminal justice platform and announced shortly after taking office that his office had eliminated requests for cash bail, making Washtenaw County the first jurisdiction in Michigan to adopt such a policy. According to a January 4, 2021, report from Michigan Advance, he issued a 20-page directive instructing assistant prosecutors not to request cash bond in any case.

According to an endorsement from Giffords, a nonprofit organization that aims to “end gun violence in America,” Hines plans to help “adequately fund similar programs at the national level.”