205. Developing a Jurisprudence of Forgiveness. feat. Martha Minow

Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where her courses include civil procedure, constitutional law, fairness and privacy, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop. 

An expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities, she also writes and teaches about digital communications, democracy, privatization, military justice, and ethnic and religious conflict.

She has written: “Saving the News: Why The Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech,” “When Should Law Forgive?,” The First Global Prosecutor: Promise and Constraints,” “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark,” and “Government by Contract.”

Martha sits down with Greg to discuss bankruptcy laws & forgiveness in the US and restorative justice.

Episode Quotes:

A need for jurisprudence of forgiveness

14:38: One of the contrasts between forgiveness and ordinary law is that law tries to be regular, predictable, have general rules announced in advance, and apply equally across people regardless of their circumstances. Forgiveness is the opposite of all of that, which is not to say that it's necessarily subject to abuse or inconsistency. So President Obama developed a set of rules and rubrics for when to give a pardon. It's very possible to develop something that looks more law-like when we talk about the exercise of forgiveness. And we need that. If you will, we need to develop a jurisprudence of forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not call for forgetting

25:11: It is striking that there are not just different words but different social practices associated with forgiveness and forgetting. To forgive is a process that has rituals, religious or otherwise. And it does not call for forgetting. It may be precisely to remember that forgiveness is possible.

Letting go of justified resentment

11:40: I don't think it's by accident that we use the word forgiveness in the context of debt, just as we do in the context of crime, as we do in the context of somebody bumping into someone else saying: Forgive me. These all fall under the general category of letting go of justified resentment. It's not forgiveness, if there isn't a justified resentment. There is a real violation. These are real. Forgiveness can, however, be built into not only human decency but also systems.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at Harvard Law School
• Professional Profile at Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
• Professional Profile at Carnegie
• Martha Minow at TED

Her Work:

• Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve Freedom of Speech (Inalienable Rights) 
• When Should Law Forgive?
• Making All the Difference: Inclusion, Exclusion, and American Law 
• Breaking the Cycles of Hatred: Memory, Law, and Repair
• Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History after Genocide and Mass Violence

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