Sunday, September 19, 2021
Sunday Reflection: On Losing
When I was in law school, my small-group professor was former US Solicitor General Drew Days. He knew something about winning and losing in court. I remember him once saying "Sometimes you win when you are wrong, and lose when you are right."
That's probably true. But I'm still feeling down that we lost the Shefa case in the MN Supreme Court this week. I think we were right, and I think it is important. I also know that the cost of my hurt feelings is nothing compared to the cost to Ms. Shefa, who may well be killed when she is deported to Ethiopia. (She was convicted of killing her husband after an incident of violence after years of abuse, and his family has threatened exactly that).
I'm sad we have not moved the needle on federal clemency, either-- President Biden seems not to be very interested, and is keeping the decision process enmeshed in the DOJ, which is hopelessly conflicted. We have urged a change, over and over.
I suppose that part of the problem is that I keep seeking to have decision making bodies-- the MN Supreme Court (we asked them to give up their veto on clemency decisions via the Pardon Board membership of the Chief Justice) and the DOJ (which houses the Pardon Attorney)-- to give up their power. And that does not happen easily or often.
In these battles, the people who are against me are almost always Christian. Those who work with me to create a space for mercy and redemption usually are not. And that, as much as anything else, makes me sad.
