The rule of law—Sacred and Profane

Abstract

hAat does the rule of law mean to Americans? t a time when the American romance with law is being heralded as the blueprint for global society, it seems important to understand how this prized but elusive concept works to generate support and legitimacy.Ironically, it turns out thatAmericans revere the law, but are often revolted by it.They fear the law and, at the same time seek its protection. This is because Americans understand the law to be both a game played by unruly lawyers and a solemn process that transcends the actions of individuals.They cherish the rule ~ff law but also know that within the legal system the ""haves" come out ahead."What role do these popular understandings play in sustaining or challenging the legitimacy, power and durability of law? American society is Filled with signs of legal culture. Every package of food, piece of clothing, and electrical appliance contains a label warning us about its dangers, instructing in its uses, and telling where to complain if something goes wrong. Every time we park a car, dry clean clothing, or leave an umbrella in a cloak room, we are informed about limited liabilities for loss. Moreover, this pervasiveness of law is not a new phenomenon. More than a hundred and fifty years ago, Tocqueville observed that in America all issues eventually become legal matters. We spent several years coUecting stories of everyday events with the hope of understanding the basis of this American encoun te r wi th law. We wanted to understand the different conceptions of law that encourage some people to call a lawyer if their neighbor's dog disturbs their trash, and others to accept without grievance or claim the losses and pain that may be caused by defective products, by unsuccessful surgery, or by discrimination. We have explored the meanings of law in American lives, includhlg the degree to which Americans may be litigious and enthusiastically using law and the ways in which they may resist law and legality. Our question was simple, yet rather broad: To what degree do Americans understand their lives through legal concepts and processes? We wanted to know what legality means in the daily lives of Americans. Over a period of three years (1990-1993), we interviewed about 430 persons randomly selected from four counties in New Jersey, counties that represented the variation in the racial and economic composition of the state. We spoke with each person for anywhere from 1-1/2 to 5 hours.The sample included millionaire venture capitalists, lawyers, real estate brokers, hairdressers, homemakers, and welfare recipients. In the context of the lengthy interview we asked about their daily lives, problems or events that they experienced and defined as problematic, and about how they reacted to these events. Because we were interested in how people encountered and constructed legality in their daily lives, the interview was deliberately designed to capture a picture of the legality that might be unmoored from formal legal settings .That is, we sought our respondents ' concept ions of law and legality rather than asked them to respond to a professional's definition of the rule of law. We asked about neighborhood events, about employment and housing, about schools and medical treatment, about purchases in stores, interactions with businesses, and relations with government organizations. For some of the people with w h o m we spoke, the law in a formal sense was conspicuously absent, l laey reported no experience with courts, police, written laws or regulations, but may nonetheless have perceived interactions with corporat ions and businesses as legal transactions. For others, experience in formal legal settings and with authorities and le-