Editing Civil disobedience (section)

==== Choices made by the legal system ====
British judge [[Lennie Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann|Lord Hoffman]] writes that "In deciding whether or not to impose punishment, the most important consideration would be whether it would do more harm than good. This means that the objector has no right not to be punished. It is a matter for the state (including the judges) to decide on [[utilitarian]] grounds whether to do so or not."<ref>{{citation |title=Judgments – Sepet (FC) and Another (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) |date=20 March 2003 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldjudgmt/jd030320/sepet-2.htm |access-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009181022/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldjudgmt/jd030320/sepet-2.htm |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hoffman also asserted that while the "rules of the game" for civil disobedients were to remain non-violent while breaking the law, the authorities must recognize that demonstrators are acting out of their conscience in pursuit of democracy. "When it comes to punishment, the court should take into account their personal convictions", he said.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ho |first=Joyce |date=4 December 2014 |title=Punish surrendering Occupy protesters leniently, Hong Kong top court judge urges |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1655502/punish-surrendering-occupy-protesters-leniently-urges-hong-kong-top |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508173115/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1655502/punish-surrendering-occupy-protesters-leniently-urges-hong-kong-top |archive-date=8 May 2019 |access-date=30 May 2020 |work=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref>