This article examines how immigration detention in the United States under a hardline enforcement regime, especially during the Trump administration, serves not merely as an administrative tool but as a socio-legal mechanism that fosters legal cynicism among detained noncitizens.
United States of America
Ryo and Peacock (2021), “Represented but Unequal: The Contingent Effect of Legal Representation in Removal Proceedings”
This study investigates how the effectiveness of legal representation in immigration removal proceedings in the United States varies based on judicial and political context.
Roiphe (2019), “A Typology of Justice Department Lawyers’ Roles and Responsibilities”
This article examines the evolving role of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers under the Trump administration, amid increasing concerns over democratic backsliding.
Ipsen (2020), “Repeat Players, The Law, And Social Change: Redefining The Boundaries Of Environmental And Labor Governance Through Preemptive And Authoritarian Legality”
This article highlights how attorneys are central to these strategies, revealing the political role of legal professionals in reinforcing corporate power under weakened democratic institutions.
Prempeh (2000), “Lawyers and Liberal Democracy.”
This analysis revisits Alexis de Tocqueville’s reflections on the essential role lawyers play in sustaining liberal democracy, especially in guarding against the excesses of majoritarian rule.
Kroncke (2025), “Legal Complicity in an Age of Resurgent Authoritarianism”
This article critically examines the ethical and political assumptions that have shaped how liberal legal professionals, particularly in the United States, engage with authoritarian regimes.
Southworth (2018), “Lawyers and the Conservative Counterrevolution”
Ann Southworth. “Lawyers and the Conservative Counterrevolution.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 43, no. 4 (2018): 1698–1728. This article analyzes how the conservative legal movement in the United States has successfully mobilized lawyers, organizations, and …
Southworth (2019), Lawyers of the Right Professionalizing the Conservative Coalition.
This article examines how conservative lawyers have strategically shaped the legal profession and political landscape in the United States, contributing to democratic backsliding by promoting ideologies that concentrate legal power within partisan movements.
Dorf and Chu (2018), “Lawyers as Activists: From the Airport to the Courtroom”
This article highlights the crucial role lawyers played in resisting authoritarian-leaning actions during a period of democratic backsliding in the United States, specifically under the Trump administration.
Moliterno (2013), The American Legal Profession in Crisis: Resistance and Responses to Change
This work explores the American legal profession’s historical tendency to resist reform, particularly in moments of crisis that threaten its identity or institutional norms.