A rule only counts when enforced in practice

Evidence

People might say that a certain law is a “dead letter,” while another rule is “in force.” Or we use the term “living law.” Dead letters are not living law, just as a dead language like Sanskrit or Latin is no longer a language that comes tumbling from the mouths of real people, here and now. Living law is law that is alive in a legal system. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 54

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘living law’ versus dead-letter rules.
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Enforcement discretion makes written rules differ from actual practice — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 55; Rules alone stay empty unless institutions activate them — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 53; Legal rules become binding only when supporters hold enforcement power — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 471 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Legal rules become binding only when supporters hold enforcement power #expands (0.90) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 471
• Rules without concrete instances are meaningless hindrances #corroborates (0.85) — Burton, Steven J, An Introduction to Law and Legal…, 148
• A law can only shape behavior if it is communicated #expands (0.80) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 1055
• Even weakly enforced laws redirect how violations occur #qualifies (0.75) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 1046
• Legal propositions are true only within the practice’s own recognized forms #expands (0.72) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 438
• Administered play only shifts duty onto prescribed models #corroborates (0.72) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 104