A Framework for Reparations Claims

These remarks, prepared for the Boston College Third World Law Journal Reparations Symposium, compare different reparations claims in terms of their goals and viability as tort suits. I contrast two approaches observed in the claims: a "doing justice" model, which involves seeking compensation in important cases of uncorrected or uncompensated injustice; and a "social welfare" model that seeks to change the distribution of wealth. Claims under the first category are far more consistent with tort doctrine and likely to meet their goals than the social welfare-based claims.