Plenary: Law, Justice, and the Holocaust: How the Courts Failed Germany

Law, Justice, and the Holocaust: How the Courts Failed Germany

1st 60 minutes: 1.0 EIJ
2nd 60 minutes: 1.0 EP

Plenary description: In the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Law, Justice, and the Holocaust program, participants critically examine the pressures faced by German jurists under the Nazis. Using legal decrees, judicial opinions, and case law of the period, program participants study the role of judges in the establishment of the Nazi German state. This program’s close scrutiny of the past provides a framework for an exploration of the role of the judiciary and legal profession in a democracy.

Kendal Jones is a program coordinator for the Museum’s Law and Justice Initiative, facilitating programs for judges, attorneys and law enforcement agencies. Previously, she worked in the Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, where she coordinated outreach to professional audiences interested in mass atrocity prevention. Prior to joining the Museum, she worked at several human rights organizations, including Corrymeela, a peace and reconciliation center in Northern Ireland. She has a BA in history with a minor in international peace and conflict resolution from American University, and an MA in applied human rights from the University of York in the United Kingdom.  

Sarah Reza is the manager of the Museum’s Law and Justice Initiative, overseeing programs for law enforcement, judges and attorneys. Her work includes developing programmatic strategies, building and maintaining partnerships, expanding program outreach and spearheading programming and resource development. She has contributed to several institution-wide projects, including evaluations, outreach and planning. Prior to coming to the Museum, she worked at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. She received a BA in film studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MA in museum studies from The George Washington University. 

Roberta Cooper Ramo is a member of the New Mexico Bar and a Shareholder of Modrall Sperling Law Firm. She was the first woman elected as President of the American Bar Association, the first woman elected as President of the American Law Institute and is the only person to have served as President of both. She served on the UNM Board of Regents from 1988 to 1994 and as president from 1991 to 1993. She was president of the American Bar Association, the largest nationwide organization of attorneys, from 1995 to 1996. She served as president of The American Law Institute from 2008 to 2017 and as ALI’s Chair until 2021.  She has a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Colorado, a J.D. from the University of Chicago law school, and five honorary degrees. In 2015, Ms. Ramo received the American Bar Association’s highest award, the ABA Medal and in 2023 the Distinguished Service Award from the American Law Institute. She is A rated by Martindale-Hubbell and listed in the Best Lawyers of America as a mediator and arbitrator.  She is Chair of the Board of Think New Mexico, a bipartisan think tank and on the Board of The Santa Fe Opera. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American Bar Foundation. Roberta Cooper Ramo was appointed by the United States Senate and served as co-chair of a committee to review governance issues of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 2003. She is an honorary member of the Bar of England and Wales, and of Gray’s Inn. Her most recent writing is the first chapter of the Centennial History of the American Law Institute, published by Oxford University Press.