Question

Cross-Cultural Law:The Case of an American Gypsy
ANNE SUTHERLAND
Summary This article by Anne Sutherland looks at what happens when members of one culture live under the legal jurisdiction of another. The article describes the case of a young Gypsy man accused of using someone else's Social Security number, and the role played by an anthropologist in his court defense.
The young Gypsy male used the Social Security number of a five-year-old nephew to apply for a car loan. Gypsies believe that their vitsa (clan) has rights over property such as names and Social Security numbers, and that vitsa members can share in these things. Although he had no intention of stealing the car or defrauding anyone, the man was charged under a law that makes it a felony to use someone else's Social Security number. The police also concluded that he was part of a car theft ring.
Sutherland became involved in the case as an expert witness for the defense. Her first act was to discover whether the young man was a Gypsy and what his name was. Gypsies take on many "American" names, which they change often. Their identities are more typically associated with their vitsa, or clan, and a larger grouping of clans called a natsia. During the trial she testified that the young man had no intention of defrauding or stealing from anyone. She noted that it was usual for members of vitsas to share American names, Social Security numbers, and other marks of identity. Despite her testimony, however, the defendant was convicted.
Sutherland concludes her article with three points. First, Gypsies, who are a nomadic group, do not stress individual identities, which are so important to settled Americans. For hundreds of years the people and governments of the countries in which they live have persecuted Gypsies. She cites ample evidence that American police also consider them a criminal society. Hiding their identities has been their response to this persecution. Second, Gypsies suffer in jail to an unusual extent because they believe they are polluted there. Gypsies avoid long contact with non-Gypsies and their food because the latter pollute (marime) them. Their own relatives shun them if this happens, and they must go through a period of purification before reintegration into their own society. Third, there is a clash between the Gypsy view of membership in a corporate kin group and the usual American view of individual rights.
According to Sutherland in "The Case of an American Gypsy," the largest group to which Gypsies belong is called the vitsa.

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