Book: Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment and the Rule of Law
Author: Preet Bharara
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 345; Price: Rs 499
The book offers an exploration of the complex dynamics of justice production through the first person narrative of former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara. Appointed by Obama, dismissed by president Trump and his controversial role in the Devyani Khobragade case, the book surely would interest readers attempting to engage with principles of justice and law as it is lived, imagined and executed. Though it hardly engages with any of these events, the book explains justice as inextricable from inequality, violence, crime, and corruption. The same emerges through the experiences of the author where ideals meet practical and judicial limitations.
The book is organised the way a criminal case normally unfolds, that is, “Inquiry”, “Accusation”, “Judgement” and “Punishment” each with a useful introduction. Contrary to most books, the authors account of his experiences are highly accessible and free from jargon. “Inquiry” delves into the “…art of morality and investigation...” that involves improvisation and imagination. With case studies ranging from murders, manipulations by stock brokers and business houses, investigating those accused of terrorism and prosecution of Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, the book opens up the uncertainties and challenges of investigating and punishing apparent wrongdoings.
“Accusations” presents a gripping read on complexities of charging a defendant with crime, example, challenges of dealing with threats of violence before it has actually happened! Reflecting on being hailed either as a hero (in the Reza Zarrab case) or a villain (in Devyani Khobragade case), the author explains that both were unfair labels and that such reactions explain fulfillment or failure of people’s hopes and aspirations.
The section “Judgements” interestingly revolves around the “myth” of a judge. A judge as someone who “…has a central bearing on the proceedings… alter the course of events can advance or thwart truth and justice.” Yet, they are fallible, far from perfect and though strive to be fair minded and wise can fall short of that (like any human being). The court proceedings and verdicts are valuable for the models of debate and truth seeking much absent in contemporary political and public debates. “Punishments” provides an insight into the anguish of fulfilling the judgment, dwelling in the dilemma of “…who can really punish?” since both perpetrators of violence as well as judges are fallible human beings can be redemptive for both accused as well the judicial machinery.
Philosophical insights on legal principles and procedures communicated through analogies, metaphors and anecdotes make it an engaging read. Humanistic but not a radically critical exposition of law and justice, the author attempts to show how understanding the dynamic processes of constructing justice is essential to creating a conception of meaningful democracy that sustains itself on possibility of meaningful debate; against populism and ignorance.
