Determining Legislative Intent & Rules of Statutory Construction
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Videos Depicting Actual Murder and the Need for a Federal Criminal Murder-Video Statute Musa K
Florida Law Review Volume 68 | Issue 6 Article 9 November 2016 Who Watches this Stuff?: Videos Depicting Actual Murder and the Need for a Federal Criminal Murder-Video Statute Musa K. Farmand Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr Part of the First Amendment Commons Recommended Citation Musa K. Farmand Jr., Who Watches this Stuff?: Videos Depicting Actual Murder and the Need for a Federal Criminal Murder-Video Statute, 68 Fla. L. Rev. 1915 (2016). Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol68/iss6/9 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by UF Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Florida Law Review by an authorized editor of UF Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Farmand: Who Watches this Stuff?: Videos Depicting Actual Murder and the N :+2:$7&+(67+,6678))"9,'(26'(3,&7,1*$&78$/ 085'(5$1'7+(1((')25$)('(5$/&5,0,1$/ 085'(59,'(267$787( 0XVD.)DUPDQG-U $EVWUDFW 0XUGHU YLGHRV DUH YLGHR UHFRUGLQJV WKDW GHSLFW WKH LQWHQWLRQDO XQODZIXONLOOLQJRIRQHKXPDQEHLQJE\DQRWKHU*HQHUDOO\GXHWRWKHLU REVFHQH QDWXUH PXUGHU YLGHRV DUH DEVHQW IURP PDLQVWUHDP PHGLD +RZHYHU LQ WKH ZDNH RI Vester Lee Flanagan II’s ILOPHG PXUGHUV RI UHSRUWHU$OOLVRQ3DUNHUDQGFDPHUDPDQ$GDP:DUGRQOLYHWHOHYLVLRQLW LV SHUKDSV RQO\ D PDWWHU RI WLPH EHIRUH PXUGHU YLGHRV EHFRPH DQ DFFHSWDEOHIRUPRIHQWHUWDLQPHQW)XUWKHU$PHULFDQVVKRXOGEHZDU\RI SRWHQWLDO “FRS\FDW” SHUSHWUDWRUV DQG WKHLU WKLUVW IRU LQIDP\ YLD LPPRUWDOL]DWLRQ RQ WKH ,QWHUQHW DV WKH IUHH GLVVHPLQDWLRQ -
Early Understandings of the "Judicial Power" in Statutory Interpretation
ARTICLE ALL ABOUT WORDS: EARLY UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE 'JUDICIAL POWER" IN STATUTORY INTERPRETATION, 1776-1806 William N. Eskridge, Jr.* What understandingof the 'judicial Power" would the Founders and their immediate successors possess in regard to statutory interpretation? In this Article, ProfessorEskridge explores the background understandingof the judiciary's role in the interpretationof legislative texts, and answers earlier work by scholars like ProfessorJohn Manning who have suggested that the separation of powers adopted in the U.S. Constitution mandate an interpre- tive methodology similar to today's textualism. Reviewing sources such as English precedents, early state court practices, ratifying debates, and the Marshall Court's practices, Eskridge demonstrates that while early statutory interpretationbegan with the words of the text, it by no means confined its searchfor meaning to the plain text. He concludes that the early practices, especially the methodology ofJohn Marshall,provide a powerful model, not of an anticipatory textualism, but rather of a sophisticated methodology that knit together text, context, purpose, and democratic and constitutionalnorms in the service of carrying out the judiciary's constitutional role. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................... 991 I. Three Nontextualist Powers Assumed by English Judges, 1500-1800 ............................................... 998 A. The Ameliorative Power .............................. 999 B. Suppletive Power (and More on the Ameliorative Pow er) .............................................. 1003 C. Voidance Power ..................................... 1005 II. Statutory Interpretation During the Founding Period, 1776-1791 ............................................... 1009 * John A. Garver Professor ofJurisprudence, Yale Law School. I am indebted toJohn Manning for sharing his thoughts about the founding and consolidating periods; although we interpret the materials differently, I have learned a lot from his research and arguments. -
Statutory Construction in Florida: in Search of a Principled Approach
STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA: IN SEARCH OF A PRINCIPLED APPROACH Peter D. Webster Sylvia H. Walbolt Christine R. Davis I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 437 II. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION BY THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ................. 447 A. The Polestar of Statutory Construction—Legislative Intent............................................... 448 B. Competing Canons of Statutory Construction ........ 449 1. Knowles v. Beverly Enterprises—Florida, Inc. 451 2. Delgado v. State ............................... 457 3. Donato v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co.............................................. 461 4. B.C. v. Florida Department of Children & Families........................................ 463 5. Malu v. Security National Insurance Company . 465 6. State v. Goode ................................. 468 7. American Home Assurance Co. v. Plaza Materials Corp. ................................ 470 8. State v. Paul ................................... 476 9. Sarkis v. Allstate Insurance Co.................. 482 10. Horowitz v. Plantation General Hospital Limited Partnership .................................... 484 C. Whose Rule of Statutory Construction is the Best Rule?............................................... 487 III. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION AND THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS ................................ 494 A. The Need for Restraint ............................. 497 B. Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States—A Court Run Amok? ........................................ -
Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Which Was Held at the Headquarters of the United Nations
STATUTE STATUTE AS AMENDED UP TO 28 DECEMBER 1989 (ill t~, IAEA ~~ ~.l}l International Atomic Energy Agency 05-134111 Page 1.indd 1 28/06/2005 09:11:0709 The Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was held at the Headquarters of the United Nations. It came into force on 29 July 1957, upon the fulfilment of the relevant provisions of paragraph E of Article XXI. The Statute has been amended three times, by application of the procedure laid down in paragraphs A and C of Article XVIII. On 3 I January 1963 some amendments to the first sentence of the then paragraph A.3 of Article VI came into force; the Statute as thus amended was further amended on 1 June 1973 by the coming into force of a number of amendments to paragraphs A to D of the same Article (involving a renumbering of sub-paragraphs in paragraph A); and on 28 December 1989 an amendment in the introductory part of paragraph A. I came into force. All these amendments have been incorporated in the text of the Statute reproduced in this booklet, which consequently supersedes all earlier editions. CONTENTS Article Title Page I. Establishment of the Agency .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 II. Objectives . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 III. Functions ......... : ....... ,..................... 5 IV. Membership . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 V. General Conference . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10 VI. Board of Governors .......................... 13 VII. Staff............................................. 16 VIII. Exchange of information .................... 18 IX. Supplying of materials .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19 x. Services, equipment, and facilities .. .. ... 22 XI. Agency projects .............................. , 22 XII. Agency safeguards . -
Parliamentary Debates in Statutory Interpretation: a Question Of
Parliamentary Debates in Statutory Interpretation:A Question of Admissibilityor of Weight? St6phane Beaulac" The exclusionary rule which prohibits references La r~gle qui exclue l'utilisation des debats parle- to parliamentary materials as an aid to statutory inter- mentaires comme outil d'interpr6tation legislative a te pretation has been applied for decades in most common appliqude pendant des d6cennies dans la plupart des ju- law jurisdictions. The House of Lords handed down its ridictions de common law jusqu'a la decision de prin- fundamental decision in Pepper v. Hartwhich allowed cipe du comit6 d'appel de la House ofLords dans Pep- reference to parliamentary debates in limited circum- per c. Hart. L'auteur examine d'abord les origines an- stances. glaises de la r~gle d'exclusion ainsi que ses applica- The author first examines the English origins of tions dans d'autres juridictions de common law telles the exclusionary rule as well as its application in other I'Australie, la Nouvelle-Z6lande, les ttats-Unis et le 1998 CanLIIDocs 38 common law jurisdictions, including Australia, New Canada. L'auteur commente aussi la situation dans le Zealand, the United States and Canada. The author also syst~me de droit civil qu6b6cois. L'exclusion des d6- comments on the situation prevailing in Quebec's civil bats parlementaires est ensuite consid6r6e dans le con- law system. The exclusion of parliamentary debates is texte plus global des m6thodes et des principes then considered in the broader context of the methods d'interpretation legislative. and principles of statutory construction. L'auteur soutient que l'utilisation des d6bats par- The author contends that the issue of parliamen- lementaires dans l'interpretation legislative est une tary debates in statutory interpretation is a question of question de poids plutft que d'admissibilite. -
A Clash of Canons: Lenity, Chevron, and the One- Statute, One-Interpretation Rule
A Clash of Canons: Lenity, Chevron, and the One- Statute, One-Interpretation Rule JUSTIN LEVINE* TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1424 I. THE RULE OF LENITY AND THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE . 1427 A. THE RULE OF LENITY ...................................... 1427 1. Types of Canons ............................... 1427 2. Rule of Lenity Examined......................... 1429 B. THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE ................................... 1430 1. Pre-Chevron Jurisprudence ....................... 1430 2. Chevron's Two-Step Doctrine ..................... 1431 3. Chevron's Rationales ........................... 1432 4. Mead's Emphasis on Congressional Intent. 1433 C. LENITY AND CHEVRON IN CONFLICT .......................... 1434 1. Overview .................................... 1434 2. Possible Resolutions ............................ 1435 a. Lenity Over Chevron (Lenity in Step One). 1435 b. Chevron Limited by Lenity (Lenity in Step Two) . 1436 c. Chevron Over Lenity ........................ 1436 d. Path Dependence ........................... 1438 II. ONE-STATUTE, ONE-INTERPRETATION RULE REJECTED . 1438 A. OVERVIEW .............................................. 1438 B. SUPREME COURT PRECEDENT RE-EXAMINED .................... 1440 1. Leocal v. Ashcroft .............................. 1441 * Georgetown Law, J.D. expected 2019; Dartmouth College, A.B. 2016. © 2019, Justin Levine. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Professors Bernick and Westmoreland for their insights on administrative law and -
Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and the Democratic Dilemma: Proposing a “Controlled Activism” Alternative Martin H
Florida Law Review Volume 64 | Issue 6 Article 1 1-27-2013 Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and the Democratic Dilemma: Proposing a “Controlled Activism” Alternative Martin H. Redish Matthew .B Arnould Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation Martin H. Redish and Matthew B. Arnould, Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and the Democratic Dilemma: Proposing a “Controlled Activism” Alternative, 64 Fla. L. Rev. 1485 (2012). Available at: http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol64/iss6/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UF Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Florida Law Review by an authorized administrator of UF Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Redish and Arnould: Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and the Democrati Florida Law Review Founded 1948 Formerly University of Florida Law Review VOLUME 64 DECEMBER 2012 NUMBER 6 DUNWODY DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN LAW JUDICIAL REVIEW, CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION, AND THE DEMOCRATIC DILEMMA: PROPOSING A “CONTROLLED ACTIVISM” ALTERNATIVE Martin H. Redish & Matthew B. Arnould Abstract No problem generates more debate among constitutional scholars than how to approach constitutional interpretation. This Article critiques two representative theories (or families of theories), originalism and nontextualism, and offers a principled alternative, which we call “controlled activism.” -
Can Legislatures Constrain Judicial Interpretation of Statutes? Anthony D'amato Northwestern University School of Law, [email protected]
Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons Faculty Working Papers 2010 Can Legislatures Constrain Judicial Interpretation of Statutes? Anthony D'Amato Northwestern University School of Law, [email protected] Repository Citation D'Amato, Anthony, "Can Legislatures Constrain Judicial Interpretation of Statutes?" (2010). Faculty Working Papers. Paper 71. http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/facultyworkingpapers/71 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Working Papers by an authorized administrator of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. Can Legislatures Constrain Judicial Interpretation of Statutes? by Anthony D’Amato*, 75 Va. L. Rev. 561-603 (1989) Abstract: An aspect of the battle over deconstruction is whether resort to legislative intent might help to determine the content of a statutory text that otherwise, in splendid isolation, could be deconstructed by simply positing different interpretive contexts. I examine the same issue by recounting my own quest for determinate meaning in statutes—a sort of personal legislative history. I do not claim for jurisprudence the role of ensuring faithful reception of the legislature's message, for that is impossible. At best, jurisprudential theory only reduces the degrees of interpretive freedom, and then only probably, not necessarily. The more significant thesis of this article is that all theories of statutory interpreta- tion can only do that much and no more. Tags: legislative intent, statutory interpretation, jurisprudence, deconstruction, doctrinalists [pg561]** An aspect of the current battle over deconstruction [FN1] is whether resort to legislative intent might help to determine the content of a statutory text that otherwise, in splendid isolation, could be deconstructed by simply positing different interpretive contexts. -
Oklahoma Statutes Title 12. Civil Procedure
OKLAHOMA STATUTES TITLE 12. CIVIL PROCEDURE §12-1. Title of chapter...........................................................................................................................30 §12-2. Force of common law.................................................................................................................30 §12-3. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................30 §12-4. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................30 §12-5. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................30 §12-6. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................30 §12-7. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................30 §12-8. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................30 §12-9. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.............................................................31 §12-10. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984...........................................................31 §12-11. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984...........................................................31 §12-12. Repealed by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 32, eff. Nov. 1, 1984...........................................................31 -
Statutory Interpretation and the Plain Meaning Rule Charles A
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Kentucky Kentucky Law Journal Volume 37 | Issue 1 Article 5 1948 Statutory Interpretation and the Plain Meaning Rule Charles A. Sither Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj Part of the Legislation Commons Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Sither, Charles A. (1948) "Statutory Interpretation and the Plain Meaning Rule," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 37 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol37/iss1/5 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky Law Journal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STATUTORY INTERPRETATION ANID THE PLAIN -MEANING RULE It cannot be disputed that statutory law is increasing, and as a natural result the approach of the courts to the problem of interpretation is becoming more important each day It isob- vious that the difficulties of lawyer and layman alike, m under- standing and complying with statutes which affect their prob- lems and activities, are and will be increasingly aggravated unless the courts arrive at some consistent and uniform method of statutory interpretation. At the timS of the enactment of any statute, the legislature has available an unlimited reservoir of words and phrases cap- able of expressing in plain, everyday language any purpose or intent'it may have in mind relative to the subject matter. -
Judicial Interpretation of Statutes April 2020
Judicial Interpretation of Statutes April 2020 Executive Summary Courts in the United States serve several functions. They oversee civil and criminal trials, issue orders requiring or prohibiting certain actions, decide whether a particular law violates the constitution, and determine the meaning of language in a contract or law. This publication discusses the role the courts play in interpreting statutes. The primary focus of statutory interpretation is the language of a statute. Courts only move beyond that language when there is ambiguity. This publication discusses the tests and tools the court uses to resolve ambiguity and includes questions for legislators to consider when crafting legislation. Authority to Interpret Statutes The judicial system in the United States adopted the common law system from England.1 Under that system there were few statutes. Courts developed the law by relying on general principles, following decisions of prior courts, and applying that guidance to the specific facts of a case. The common law tradition gave courts great power to say what the law was, and there was an understanding that courts in the United States retained that power. In one of the most famous decisions by the United States Supreme Court, Marbury v. Madison, the court said: “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule.”2 Every court has the authority to interpret statutes. Minnesota has three levels of courts— district courts, the court of appeals, and the supreme court. -
Textualist Canons: Cabining Rules Or Predilective Tools Stephen M
Campbell Law Review Volume 33 Article 3 Issue 1 Fall 2010 2010 Textualist Canons: Cabining Rules or Predilective Tools Stephen M. Durden Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.campbell.edu/clr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation Stephen M. Durden, Textualist Canons: Cabining Rules or Predilective Tools, 33 Campbell L. Rev. 115 (2010). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Repository @ Campbell University School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Campbell Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Repository @ Campbell University School of Law. Durden: Textualist Canons: Cabining Rules or Predilective Tools Textualist Canons: Cabining Rules or Predilective Tools STEPHEN M. DURDEN* INTRODUCTION Justice Scalia proclaims homage to the "dead" Constitution.' Justice Brennan honors the "living" Constitution.2 Others believe in "a partially living and partially dead Constitution."' But, whichever moniker se- lected, constitutional analysis remains (to the interpreter) personal; however, personal does not necessarily mean irrational or even singular (i.e., that no one else agrees with the interpretation). Rather, personal means that no matter how narrow the interpretational method, an inter- preter of the Constitution inevitably makes personal choices when using any interpretational method - choices not required by, or perhaps even inconsistent with, the chosen interpretational method. * Professor of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law. I can never thank my family and friends enough. 1. See generally Sanford Levinson, Our Schizoid Approach to the United States Con- stitution: Competing Narrative of Constitutional Dynamism and Stasis, 84 IND. L.J. 1337, 1346 (2009) (describing Antonin Scalia as "the proud devotee of a 'dead' Constitution"); Reva B.