CAROLINE KENNEDY ON LEGAL
RELEVANCE
For over two decades, Caroline
Kennedy has been working to bring about a greater appreciation for the
relevance of law in American life. Since graduating from Columbia
Law School, the late President's daughter has co-authored two books and
several essays on the pragmatic dimensions of law. She has also toured
the country, speaking on legal topics and engaging the public in legal
discussion groups.
REFLECTING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
To generate a higher level of interest
in legal issues, Kennedy and co-author Ellen Alderman have developed a
narrative approach to legal writing. With remarkable clarity, the
law is presented as a reflection of the human experience and a chronicle
of the most pivotal issues in our lives. Through interviews with
litigants and witnesses, Kennedy and Alderman bring the law to life in
a series of literary accounts that reflect the human drama behind the law.
By relating the stories of people who have been involved in litigation
and presenting legal issues in the context of these experiences, the authors
have achieved a wider scope of legal relevance. The books were originally
inspired by their studies in law school. "I think both of us were
struck," Kennedy says, "by the stories of the people that we were reading
about in our case book, and we thought maybe that would be a way of helping
people realize that the law is not just dry and technical or too complicated
for them to understand, but its about people everyday." Their first
book, "In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action," examines the impressive
nature of constitutional law, its continuing impact on American jurisprudence,
and its useful application in a wide range of circumstances. The
bill of rights is, Kennedy says, "Something that affects your life, and
we wanted to kind of give a sense of the people behind the document to
show its human face. So our idea was to go into the field and talk
to people whose lives have been affected by the Bill of Rights."
Kennedy's strong affinity for the law is evident in her admiration for
the constitution. "I think the thing we tried to do in our book is
consider them all together. That's when you realize how amazing the
Bill of Rights really is. It is the most comprehensive definition
of liberty, I think, that's ever been drafted, and were awfully lucky to
have it," Kennedy says.
PRESENTING OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
In their second book, "The Right
to Privacy," Kennedy and Alderman discuss more obscure legal topics that
are not referred to directly in the constitution. This best-selling
study of the erosion of privacy and its implications for American law has
had a major impact on public opinion and placed privacy issues in the vanguard
of legislative agendas. The book is perceptive in illuminating nuances
of the law and the pitfalls of oversimplification. Referring to specific
case studies involving the work place, computer information, law enforcement
and the press, the authors discuss privacy issues from several perspectives.
With well balanced objectivity, Kennedy and Alderman emphasize the need
to protect individual privacy without risking the loss of other rights
in the process. "Almost always," Kennedy states, "when privacy is
at stake there is also another very important right or interest involved.
And often the right to privacy gets balanced away or loses out to that
other interest---the interest of law enforcement or a free press or a boss's
right to run a business, for example."
CATALYST FOR THOUGHT
Each book is intended to serve as
a catalyst for discussion and both encourage readers to reach their own
conclusions. "People have different reactions to these issues," says
Alderman, "and we just don't have the solution that is right for everybody.
Our goal is to make people more aware of the problem, of the value of privacy
and of what we risk losing. In addition, the more people know about
their rights, the better informed they are, then the more likely they are
to participate in the process and in the public debate. We hope to
get people thinking about these issues.... The laws there are just about
to be made. It's important now to see what we've done about privacy
issues in the past and decide whether that has been satisfactory or whether
we want to do more."
The unique realism that characterizes
the stories comes partly from the authors' experiences prior to law school.
After completing her undergraduate studies at Harvard, Kennedy worked in
documentary film before beginning her legal studies. She produced
films on American history and films for children. Alderman also worked
in documentary film prior to law school, and both writers say the experience
has helped them in their quest for a more realistic form of legal writing.
The favorable response from readers and book reviews indicates an increasing
appreciation for the relevance of law in daily life. One reviewer
notes: "They manage to present the human and legal complexities of
these cases in language that is accessible to the general reader and is
remarkably free of jargon." Another critic lauds their discerning
analysis of obscure legal dilemmas: "To the credit of Ellen Alderman
and Caroline Kennedy, there is now an excellent book that helps clarify
and make real the importance of privacy. The Right to Privacy is
a fascinating and well constructed expose of the pivotal legal battles
that have helped shape the right of privacy. It is perhaps the most
engaging book on privacy ever written." Kennedy says the positive
public response they found on the tours and call-in shows indicates there
is a strong interest in legal issues. She emphasizes that, "contrary
to the perception that people don't care and they're not interested, people
really do care about the Bill of Rights. They take it very seriously."
This article includes information
from C-Span Booknotes and Bookpage.com
Brandon Press