This chapter explores whether civil disobedience can be not just morally justifiable, but also legally defensible and, if it can be, how states should respond to it. The key question is whether states act legitimately when they punish civil disobedients and, if they do act legitimately, on what grounds. Philosophers have advanced numerous grounds to justify state punishment in general, including retribution or just deserts, deterrence, incapacitation, communicating society’s censure, vindicating victims, and easing political and social tensions. The question is whether any of these grounds can justify states in punishing people who engage in civil disobedience. If states act illegitimately in punishing civil disobedients, which seems likely in many cases, then what distinguishes civil disobedients from other lawbreakers? We discuss various defenses that civil disobedients might make in a court of law to differentiate their conduct from ordinary offenses.