Daniel M. Brinks. “The Legal Complex and the Response to Police Violence in South America.” In Fighting for Political Freedom: Comparative Studies of the Legal Complex and Political Liberalism. Edited by Terence C. Halliday, Lucien Karpik, and Malcolm M. Feeley, pp. 281-314, Oxford, U.K: Hart Publishing, 2007.

This chapter examines how lawyers, prosecutors, and judges in South America respond to persistent police violence and impunity; conditions that pose a serious threat to political liberalism and democratic consolidation. Focusing on criminal prosecutions of police officers accused of murder, the chapter analyzes whether members of the legal profession act as defenders of due process, personal integrity, and freedom from arbitrary killing, or whether they accommodate punitive political pressures.

Set against widespread public demand for aggressive policing in response to violent crime, the chapter highlights a core dilemma in backsliding or fragile democracies: legal professionals may have a structural affinity for the rule of law and judicial autonomy, yet face intense short-term political and social pressures to prioritize security over rights. The analysis shows that variation in lawyers’ behavior often emerges when their long-term professional commitment to a moderate state and institutional legality clashes with immediate pressures for order, punishment, or political alignment.

In this context, the legal complex becomes a crucial arena of contestation. Prosecutors and judges can either reinforce impunity, thereby enabling democratic erosion, or assert accountability, strengthening institutional safeguards against authoritarian drift. The chapter underscores that the role of attorneys in backsliding democracies is not uniform but contingent, shaped by institutional autonomy, professional norms, and political incentives.