Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight for Fairness

In this eye-opening work, Coates (law, George Washington Univ.), a former federal prosecutor, confronts the many injustices in the American legal system, particularly for non-white people and women. Coates takes readers through her experiences as a prosecutor, including the time when a white male colleague relished showing her his over-the-top interrogation of a Black youth; another time when a witness in a court case was deported even as Coates attempted to stop the process; and cases of victim-shaming of women in courtrooms based on attire. Coates originally became a prosecutor to right the wrongs she saw happening in communities across the United States, but she describes coming to realize throughout her tenure that the “pursuit of justice creates injustice.” Now a law professor and CNN legal analyst, Coates invites readers to examine their own actions as the nation grapples with reforming the. legal system, where non-white people are overrepresented and unfairly treated in criminal courts and prisons. Her engaging narrative has a personal touch that will hold readers’ interest from start to finish.