Destroying the Village to Save It: The Warfare Analogy (or Dis-Analogy?) and the Moral Imperative to Address Collateral Consequences

Abstract

This paper is the introduction to a Howard Law Journal symposium on collateral consequences. To set the stage for the symposium, the paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of the analogy drawn between "collateral damage" in armed warfare and "collateral consequences" in the war on crime. The paper argues that these similarities and differences - which turn on concepts of certainty, particularity, and reciprocity of the harm - highlight the moral need to reform the law's treatment of collateral consequences. The paper concludes by summarizing the symposium articles and placing them into a framework that supports and illustrates the paper's main conclusions.

Keywords: collateral consequences, war on crime, armed warfare, certainty, particularity, reciprocity, lawyering, lawyers, informed choice, indifferent, indifference, evil, innocence, autonomy, exclusion, citizenship, responsibility, Padilla

JEL Classification: A10, H40, I30, J70, K14