#254: Injustice … in the Pursuit of Justice (Laura Coates '01)

Politics and Polls

Laura Coates '01, CNN anchor and legal analyst and, believes in education as a form of activism. This led her to write her new book, "Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor's Fight for Fairness," a groundbreaking account of bias in the courtroom.

In this episode, Julian and Sam talk with Laura about the essays in her book, which document her time as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice, and reveal how she experienced both racism and sexism in the courtroom. Despite her best intentions, she quickly realized that the "pursuit of justice creates injustice."

Considered a constitutional expert, Laura is a former federal prosecutor who served as assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, as well as a trial attorney in the Voting Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. In private practice, Laura was an intellectual property litigator with an expertise in First Amendment, defamation and media law.

In addition to her role with CNN, she is also a SiriusXM Talk Show Host and an adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Law.

Her book, “Just Pursuit,” was published Jan. 18, 2022, by Simon & Schuster.