What is circle justice? What chance does it give Cole?

Basically it was a group of elders from the community, the family of those affected by Cole's crime, Cole's family and Cole's social workers (Garvey and Edwin). All meet to figure out some type of restorative justice that would help both the perpetrator (Cole) and his victim (Peter) instead of merely punishing Cole. Circle Justice gives Cole a chance to avoid prison time by doing something different. In this case, Cole will live on an island near Alaska for a year.