This paper answers the question of how the state affects the power distribution among the citizens by bureaucratic interaction. The author argues that we have to analyze the interaction between citizens and street-level bureaucrats to understand the state’s role on a daily basis. I illustrate my theoretical argument with an example of the bureaucratic behavior
inside of a conditional cash transfer program in Colombia. The article concludes that the legal academia has to rediscover the street-level bureaucrat concept in order to recognize new stages of litigation beyond the judiciary branch.