Litigation functions either as a substitute for politics or as a supplement to it.

Evidence

The two campaigns, however, also reveal the different uses that groups seeking legal reform may make of litigation. Realizing that Southern school districts would not voluntarily desegregate their schools, the NAACP relied exclusively on litigation to achieve this goal. In contrast, abortion reformers used litigation not as an alternative to political action but as an additional weapon in their effort to liberalize abortion laws. In fact, abortion reformers enjoyed considerable success in the legislative arena before challenging restrictions on abortion in the courts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3168

Categorization

• DEFINE: Pins down a recurring distinction between litigation as exclusive strategy versus litigation as one tool among several.
• XREF: Echoes the broader debate over courts as venues of last resort versus arenas chosen alongside legislatures. — connects to: LSC lawyers justify political litigation as serving the poor community’s interests. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 763