Defiance

Abstract

Mass public defiance of legal authority has a long history in America, dating back to the nation's founding. The American Revolution itself was an act of defiance against British rule. Since then, numerous instances of defiance have occurred, such as Shays’ Rebellion, the Nullification Crisis, slave revolts, the Civil War, labor violence, draft resistance during WWI, Prohibition-era defiance, the Civil Rights Movement, opposition to court rulings like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade, Vietnam War protests, urban riots, and recent protests against police brutality and the Capitol invasion after the 2020 election. This pattern of defiance mirrors England's own history of legal resistance, from the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 to the late 18th-century Lord George Gordon riots, not to mention the near continuous revolt and tumult in Ireland.

This Article will focus on instances in which an individual or, much more usually, a group will publicly and deliberately defy the law based on a belief that it is unjust or simply wrong, sometimes but not always to provoke legal reform. Just as private individuals can engage in public defiance of law, so may government officials. In our democracy, everyone is under an obligation to obey the law. Many instances of public defiance, as will be seen, involve misconduct by government officials. When that occurs, ideally, the courts will impose sanctions.

Keywords: Public defiance, Legal authority, Law, History, United States, Rule of Law