The Power of Second-Order Legal Consciousness

Authorities' Perceptions of "Street Policy" and Welfare Fraud Enforcement

Bibliographic Data

ID4085471
AuthorsSpencer Headworth (0000-0003-0075-370X, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume54
Issue2
Pages320-353
Publication date2020-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLaw & Society Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/lasr.12470
OpenAlexW3022824496
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited62

Legal authorities' second-order legal consciousness-their perceptions of others' understandings of law-shapes the social realization of legal power. Analysis of interviews with welfare fraud enforcement workers from five US states reveals their perceptions of how clients view law, policy, and enforcement practices, and shows these perceptions' consequences. Enforcement workers' perceptions influence the discretionary work of policy implementation, as fraud workers attempt to circumvent what they see as clients' evasive maneuvers and act in ways they believe will influence clients' thinking and behavior. Fraud workers' second-order legal consciousness can also influence welfare law, when their perceptions of clients' understandings and behaviors drive changes in written rules. Together, these effects demonstrate the power of authorities' second-order legal consciousness to affect both law in action and law in books. Through documenting the impact of authorities' second-order legal consciousness, this study fills an important gap in social scientific knowledge of how ongoing, dynamic processes of assessing others' thinking and responding accordingly shape law-infused environments

Business · Enforcement · Law enforcement · Order (exchange · Perception · Political science · Power (physics · Public relations · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Psychology

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