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Laura Coates’ Just Pursuit seeks a fair legal system for Blacks
Laura Coates, author of “Just Pursuit,” touches the heart as few other writers can. Her stories are not filled with anger or pity but with empathy for those caught in the legal-system web, both as victims and perpetrators.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Explain why a colleague described working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office as “human misery.”
The justice system takes its toll on every person who plays a role in the system, whether it’s the offender or victim, the people defending or prosecuting. Everyone with their fingerprints in the system will be marked by it, and at times it is indelible.
One of your most heartfelt chapters tells of an unregistered immigrant who, as a crime victim himself, was deported due to your legal obligation to report his status to your superiors. How did that feel?
I don’t want to compare my feelings in any way to the person’s emotions who was most impacted by the deportation. The incident marked the battle of allegiance that I felt during my work in the Justice Department — trying to reconcile the distinction of what is fair and what is lawful. I feel now, as I did then, torn that the requirement for justice often creates injustice.
