Sentencing Circles, Clashing Worldviews, and the Case of Christopher Pauchay

• Published in: Illumine: Journal of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society Graduate Students Association
• Main Author: Goldbach, Toby Susan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Victoria 2014
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/Illumine/article/view/10726; https://doi.org/10.18357/illumine101201110726

The case of Christopher Pauchay demonstrates some of the differencesbetween predominant Euro-Canadian and First Nations approaches todispute resolution. The principles of sentencing circles sometimes overlapwith the principles of restorative justice and suggest their potentialincorporation into the criminal justice system. The use of alternativeprocesses that share some common values is not enough to overcome tochasm between Euro-Western and Aboriginal justice. Where underlyingworldviews diff er, those who can choose between competing valuesamidst limited possibilities will likely choose the values that refl ect theconventional system. A comparison of Euro-Western and Aboriginalapproaches to crime and punishment clarifi es why Pauchay’s sentencingcircle was unsuccessful as an alternative option. Advocates of alternativemethods must consider more than the implementation of a process whenadapting selective cultural methods to the overarching system. Withoutfurther evaluation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) itself becomesa mechanism of recolonization.