Law Commons^™

The Alignment Of Law And Norms: Of Mirrors, Bulwarks, And Pressure Valves, Mark A. Edwards

Faculty Scholarship

Why does law mirror norms sometimes, but other times not? This article examines two types of intervening factors that sometimes cause a persistent misalignment between law and norms: pressure valves and bulwarks.

Pressure valves are mechanisms that relieve the pressure placed on the law to change despite a gap with social norms. Pressure valves are found in two distinct social phenomena.

First, pressure on law to change to reflect social norms is relieved when law is not enforced against behavior that is illegal, but socially acceptable. Formally deviant acts that are socially acceptable often do not generate an enforcement response. …