The Condorcet Jury Theorem and the Expressive Function of Law: A Theory of Informative Law

We argue that legislation can generate compliance expressively,independently of deterrence. The Condorcet jury theorem impliesthat, in certain circumstances, the legislative process aggregatesthe private information of legislators to reach a decision superiorto that of any individual legislator. Citizens may update theirbeliefs about issues the legislation addresses even though individuallegislators are no better informed than individual citizens,and change their behavior in the direction of greater compliance.We first use a model with sincere voting and then consider strategicvoting, position-taking preferences, lobbying, and legislativeinstitutions. We use a public smoking ban for illustration,and propose an experimental test.