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On the Expressive Function of Law

Sunstein, Cass R.·1996·University of Pennsylvania Law Review

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Abstract

If I had known that not a single lunch counter would open as a result of my action I could not have done differently than I did. If I had known violence would result, I could not have done differently than I did. I am thankful for the sit-ins iffor no other reason than that they provided me with an opportunity for making a slogan into a reality, by turning a decision into an action. It seems to me that this is what life is all about.

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“Part of the role of health and safety law, then, is to change social meanings around work, reinforcing notions of acceptable behaviour and attaching penalties to non-compliance (Hawkins 2002: 4; Lessig 1995: 995; Sunstein 1996: 2031).”
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Meyerson, D., MacDermott, T., & Mackenzie, C. (2020) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429317248 · Cited by 37
Is compulsory voting a solution to low and declining turnout? Cross-national evidence since 1945
Kostelka, F., Singh, S. P., & Blais, A. (2022) · Political Science Research and Methods · doi:10.1017/psrm.2022.57 · Cited by 26
“However, laws may also have an “ expressive function ” wherein they affect societal norms and shape citizens ’ behavior by altering perceptions of what others approve or disapprove (e.g., Sunstein, 1996).”
The expressive function of public policy: renewable energy mandates signal social norms
Syropoulos, S., Sparkman, G., & Constantino, S. M. (2024) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2023.0038 · Cited by 26
“Institutions can both create norms and be effective communicators of norms — they thus have an ‘ expressive ’ function [43].”
Background

Authors: Sunstein, C. R.
Corresponding author: Sunstein, Cass R.
ORCID: Sunstein, Cass R.
Venue: University of Pennsylvania Law Review
Publisher: JSTOR
Published: 1996-05
Volume: 144
Issue: 5
Pages: 2021
ISSN: 0041-9907 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.2307/3312647
OpenAlex: W3123783531
Cited by: 795
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 57 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 102 · 2018: 67 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 22
FWCI: 8.26
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: University of Pennsylvania Law Review (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Law › Law, Rights, and Freedoms
Social Sciences › Law › Law in Society and Culture
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
Keywords: expressive function, civil disobedience, sit-ins, freedom of expression, protest, law and morality, Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights movement

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On the Expressive Function of Law

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