University of Wisconsin–Madison

Category: Evidence of Lawyers’ Resistance

Urribarri (2011). “Courts between democracy and hybrid authoritarianism: evidence from the Venezuelan Supreme Court.”

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Urribarri, R. A. S. (2011). Courts between democracy and hybrid authoritarianism: evidence from the Venezuelan Supreme Court. Law & Social Inquiry, 36(4), 854-884. This article offers a theoretical discussion about courts in “hybrid regimes” that evolve from formerly democratic countries. The evolution toward authoritarianism typically allows governments more latitude to reduce judicial independence and judicial power. Yet, …

Kureshi (2021). “When Judges Defy Dictators”

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Kureshi, Y. (2021). When Judges Defy Dictators. Comparative Politics, 53(2), 233-2. Under what conditions do judiciaries act assertively against authoritarian regimes? The author argues that the judiciary coalesces around institutional norms and preferences in response to the preferences of institutions and networks, or “audiences,” with which judges interact, and which shape the careers and reputations of judges. …

Gerzso (2023), “Judicial resistance during electoral disputes: Evidence from Kenya”

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Gerzso, T. (2023). Judicial resistance during electoral disputes: Evidence from Kenya. Electoral Studies, 85, 102653. Over the last decade, African courts have played an important role in the conduct of free and fair elections. In Kenya, the Supreme Court nullified the presidential election of the incumbent. These rulings challenge the conventional wisdom that courts in hybrid regimes …

Pavone (2022), “The Ghostwriters: Lawyers and the Politics behind the Judicial Construction of Europe”

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Pavone, Tommaso. The Ghostwriters: Lawyers and the Politics behind the Judicial Construction of Europe. Cambridge Studies in Law and Society. Cambridge University Press, November 2022. Paperback. ISBN: 9781009074988. The Ghostwriters challenges the traditional, judge-centered narrative that portrays the European Union as a polity built primarily by judicial activism. Pavone uncovers the political work of practicing …

Gerzso (2023), “Judicial resistance during electoral disputes: Evidence from Kenya”

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Gerzso, Thalia. Judicial resistance during electoral disputes: Evidence from Kenya (2023). Electoral Studies, 85, 102653. Over the last decade, African courts have become central actors in the conduct of elections, sometimes even resisting incumbents during electoral disputes. This article asks when and why courts in hybrid regimes take the risk of siding with the opposition …

Baraybar & Gonzalez-Ocantos (2022), “Prosecutorial Agency, Backlash and Resistance in the Peruvian Chapter of Lava Jato”

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Baraybar, V., & Gonzalez-Ocantos, E. (2022). Prosecutorial Agency, Backlash and Resistance in the Peruvian Chapter of Lava Jato. In S. Botero, D. M. Brinks, & E. A. Gonzalez-Ocantos (Eds.), The Limits of Judicialization: From Progress to Backlash in Latin America (pp. 314–340). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Peru’s chapter of Lava Jato became one of the …

Delaney, Dixon & Kosař (2025), “Chief Justices and Democratic Resilience: Judicial Leadership in Times of Constitutional Crisis”

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Delaney, Erin F., Rosalind Dixon, and David Kosař. Chief Justices and Democratic Resilience: Judicial Leadership in Times of Constitutional Crisis (2025). International Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 148–159. Chief justices play a pivotal role in safeguarding judicial legitimacy and democratic resilience, especially during periods of constitutional crisis. The authors argue that …

Batesmith (2023), “Lawyers Who Want to Make the World a Better Place – Scheingold and Sarat’s Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering”

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Batesmith, Alex. “Lawyers Who Want to Make the World a Better Place – Scheingold and Sarat’s Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering.” In Leading Works on the Legal Profession, 1st ed., Routledge, 2023. Scheingold and Sarat’s Something to Believe In (2004) remains a foundational statement on cause lawyering—one that challenges the narrow …

Batesmith & McEvoy (2025), “‘Closeted’ Cause Lawyering in Authoritarian Cambodia”

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Batesmith, Alex, and Kieran McEvoy. “‘Closeted’ Cause Lawyering in Authoritarian Cambodia.” Law & Society Review 59 (2025): 463–495. doi:10.1017/lsr.2025.29. In this article, the authors analyze how lawyers in Cambodia pursue social justice, human rights, and rule-of-law commitments while navigating an increasingly repressive authoritarian environment. Drawing from seven years of interviews with 37 Cambodian lawyers and …

Mather & Levin (2022). “When and Why Do Lawyer Organizations Seek to Influence Law?”

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Mather, Lynn and Levin, Leslie C., When and Why Do Lawyer Organizations Seek to Influence Law? (2022). Lawyers in 21st Century Societies: Volume 2 (2022), University at Buffalo School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2022-007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4213604 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4213604 Lawyers seek to influence law through advocacy for individual clients, but also through collective efforts. …