Bringing in the State: Toward a Constitutional Duty to Protect from Mob Violence

68 Pages Posted: 26 Aug 2010

See all articles by Susan S. Kuo

Susan S. Kuo

University of South Carolina - Joseph F. Rice School of Law

Date Written: 2004

Abstract

Mob violence can inflict devastating costs. Although typically wrought by private individuals, the incidence of riot as well as extent of riot harm often turn on the adequacy of police preparation and planning. Under the English common law, local governments were responsible for providing riot protection for their denizens. In keeping with the English tradition, early state laws in the United States also provided for communal riot responsibility, and when the states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, state obligations in the riot context were well-established. Despite the common law underpinnings of the governmental duty to protect citizens from mob violence, however, few states retain their riot responsibility statutes, leaving most riot victims without redress. This article contends that, under the legal doctrine of state-created danger, local and municipal governments should bear legal responsibility for state actions that spark mob violence or augment riot harm. Sociological evidence supports this argument by establishing that state action directly impacts not only the gravity of mob violence, but also the opportunities for mobs to form. These studies provide pertinent information for the trier of fact in determining the extent of the State’s responsibility for creating or increasing dangers to citizens from mob violence in a particular riot.

Keywords: Social Justice, Vulnerability, Disaster Law and Policy, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Riots

Suggested Citation

Kuo, Susan S., Bringing in the State: Toward a Constitutional Duty to Protect from Mob Violence (2004). Indiana Law Journal, Vol. 17, p. 178, 2004, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1661826

Susan S. Kuo (Contact Author)

University of South Carolina - Joseph F. Rice School of Law ( email )

1525 Senate St.
Columbia, SC 29208
United States

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