Don’t Jaywalk 
The Vox Article below has an excellent summary of what we discussed: 
https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7551873/jaywalking-history 
The creation of jaywalking laws would be an example of the interactionist view in lawmaking. The 
interactionist view states that the definition of crime reflects the preferences and opinions of people who 
hold social power in a particular legal jurisdiction, such as the auto industry. The auto industry used their 
power and influence to impose what they felt was to be right and wrong and became moral entrepreneurs. 
3 
A moral entrepreneur was a phrase coined by sociologist Howard Becker. Becker referred to individuals 
who use the strength of their positions to encourage others to follow their moral stances. Moral 
entrepreneurs create rules and argue their causes will better society, and they have a vested interest in that 
cause that maintains their political power or position. 
4 
5 
The auto industry used aggressive tactics to garner support for the new laws: using news media to shift 
3. Vuolo, M., Kadowaki, J., & Kelly, B. (2017). Marijuana's Moral Entrepreneurs, Then and Now. https://contexts.org/articles/marijuanas-
moral-entrepreneurs/ 
4. Becker, H. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance. New York: Free Press. 
5. Cole, J.M. (2013). Guidance regarding marijuana enforcement. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of the Deputy Attorney 
General. Better known as the "Cole Memorandum," 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
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