%0 Journal Article %T Receiving an on the spot penalty: A tale of morality, common sense and law %A Adam Snow %J Criminology & Criminal Justice %@ 1748-8966 %D 2019 %R 10.1177/1748895817738556 %X This article examines citizens¡¯ reactions to being issued with an on the spot penalty and the consequences this has for holding a law-abiding identity. Using mundane examples of statutory requirements regulating everyday life (motoring), it is found that people use common-sense purposive reasoning in their interpretation of law which does not match the actual black-letter law application of the specific statutes. The lack of congruence between the purposive understandings of legal requirements and the black-letter application of enforcement agencies allows citizens to maintain a moral position that is aligned with the aims of the law but not its actual requirements. This process reaffirms a belief in law-abidance even where the citizen has been found to break the law %K Common sense %K law-abidance %K motoring %K on the spot penalties %K parking %U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1748895817738556