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Why join the categories of law and madness? After all, madness is outside the law -- indeed is the opposite of it -- and, in principle, legal institutions struggle to keep these slippery terms separate. Law's Madness links these terms to see what that linkage generates, and explores the gray area between the realms of reason and madness. The very title, Law's Madness, suggests a relationship that is both possessive (a madness defined by legal discourse) and constitutive (a madness that resides in law). This provocative collection of essays reveals the ways in which the law takes its definition from that which it excludes, suppresses, or excises from itself, and asks what must be forgotten in order for law to be sustained. Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, and Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College. Lawrence Douglas is Professor in the Department of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, Amherst College. Martha Umphrey is Associate Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, Amherst College.
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Law’s Madness 4HE!MHERST3ERIESIN,AW *URISPRUDENCE AND3OCIAL4HOUGHT %ACHWORKINCLUDEDIN4HE!MHERST3ERIESIN,AW *URISPRUDENCE AND3OCIAL4HOUGHTEXPLORESATHEMECRUCIALTOANUNDERSTANDINGOF LAWASITCONFRONTSTHECHANGINGSOCIALANDINTELLECTUALCURRENTSOFTHE TWENTY lRSTCENTURY 7ORKSEDITEDBY!USTIN3ARATAND4HOMAS2 +EARNS 4HE&ATEOF,AW ,AW S6IOLENCE ,AWIN%VERYDAY,IFE 4HE2HETORICOF,AW )DENTITIES 0OLITICS AND2IGHTS ,EGAL2IGHTS (ISTORICALAND0HILOSOPHICAL0ERSPECTIVES *USTICEAND)NJUSTICEIN,AWAND,EGAL4HEORY ,AWINTHE$OMAINSOF#ULTURE #ULTURAL0LURALISM )DENTITY0OLITICS ANDTHE,AW (ISTORY -EMORY ANDTHE,AW (UMAN2IGHTS #ONCEPTS #ONTESTS #ONTINGENCIES 7ORKSEDITEDBY!USTIN3ARAT ,AWERENCE$OUGLAS AND-ARTHA-ERRILL5MPHREY ,IVESINTHE,AW ,AW S-ADNESS 4HE0LACEOF,AW Law’s Madness edited by Austin Sarat, Lawrence Douglas, and Martha Merrill Umphrey The University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2003 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2006 2005 2004 2003 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Law’s madness / edited by Austin Sarat, Lawrence Douglas, and Martha Merrill Umphrey. p. cm. — (The Amherst series in law, jurisprudence, and social thought) Includes index. isbn 0-472-11329-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Law—Psychological aspects. 2. Insanity—Jurisprudence. I. Sarat, Austin. II. Douglas, Lawrence. III. Umphrey, Martha Merrill. IV. Series. k346 .l393 2003 340'.19—dc21 2003005042 To Stephanie, Lauren, Emily, and Benjamin. (A.S.) To KRM and TJUM. (M.U.) For NEP. (L.D.) Contents Madness and Law: An Introduction Martha Merrill Umphrey, Austin Sarat, and Lawrence Douglas Policing Stories Peter Brooks Narrating Nymphomania between Psychiatry and the Law Elizabeth Lunbeck “A Situation So Unique That It Will Probably Never Repeat Itself”: Madness, Youth, and Homicide in Twentieth-Century Criminal Jurisprudence Jonathan Simon The Claims of the Dead: History, Haunted Property, and the Law Cathy Caruth 1 29 49 79 119 Rethinking Legal Ideals after Deconstruction Drucilla Cornell 147 Contributors 169 Index 171 Madness and Law: An Introduction Martha Merrill Umphrey, Aust