Judicial Pioneers:
Litigants in the Moscow Theater Hostage Case
Abstract: Courts can better protect rights when citizens are willing and able to litigate in
response to government abuses of power. However, if people are not socialized to the possibility
of litigating against governments, how does the idea to litigate first occur? Using an original
survey of victims in the Moscow theater hostage incident, we find that judicial pioneers are
motivated, contrary to expectations, by the belief that the judicial system is unfair. We provide
evidence that the negative relationship between perceived judicial fairness and litigation may be
explained by litigants’ anger at government in general. We conclude that, where belief in the
fairness of procedures has not yet emerged, the hope of winning may be the best remaining pro-
system motivation for litigation and, along with the desire to express anger, the best hope for
rights protections.
Convention