Law Pod UK 201: Raising Racism at Inquests
Jul 3, 2024
Emma Snell, a Senior Legal Fellow at JUSTICE, shares her insights into tackling racism in legal inquests. She discusses the newly published guide aimed at empowering legal professionals to address racial issues sensitively. The conversation highlights the systemic challenges of engaging with race during inquests and illustrates a tragic case entwined with racial bias. Snell emphasizes the importance of equity, improved representation for affected families, and practical strategies for coroners to mitigate biases in their investigations.
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Guide Fills A Practical Gap
- Practitioners felt compelled to have tools to navigate race because existing reluctance left families' concerns unaddressed.
- The guide fills a gap by combining legal reasoning with practical, sensitive strategies for inquests.
Race Often Invisible At Inquests
- Justice identified that race and racism are rarely addressed at inquests despite clear statistical evidence of disproportionate state violence.
- Ignoring race prevents recognition of dangerous practices and undermines families' confidence in investigations.
Use The Guide's Practical Structure
- Use the guide's practical parts to build confidence: Part 3 shows how to raise race and Part 4 shows how to evidence it.
- Also equip coroners using Part 5 so decision-makers can receive and act on those submissions.