The Practice/Theory Dilemma: Personal Reflections on the Louisiana Abortion Case

Authors

Ruth Colker

Abstract

This Essay presents Professor Colker's experiences filing an amicus brief in Sojourner T. v. Roemer, the Louisiana Abortion case. She reflects on the difficulty of raising meaningful community support in the form of client sponsors for the brief. She also addresses the conflict between the desire to present the strongest legal and political arguments and the need to ensure that the brief be supported by as many community voices as possible. She examines both the problems she faced in compromising her legal argument to better represent potential clients' actual positions, and the pressure brought by other organizations trying to change her position in order to avoid undercutting their arguments in similar cases elsewhere.

Recommended Citation

Ruth Colker, The Practice/Theory Dilemma: Personal Reflections on the Louisiana Abortion Case, 43 Hastings L.J. 1195 (1992).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol43/iss4/20