Legislation

Catalog description

Today, statutes enacted by legislatures form an important part of nearly every area of law. This course introduces the production and interpretation of statutes. It covers topics including the federal legislative process, historical developments in American interpretive theory and practice, linguistic and substantive canons of construction, and administrative agencies' interpretations of statutes. Throughout, it devotes attention to recent developments in statutory interpretation--including modern textualism, debates among textualists, the uses of linguistics and new tools (e.g. corpus linguistics, AI) in interpretation, and the major questions doctrine--and we will study several Supreme Court cases from 2017-2025. The course's main text is Manning & Stephenson eds., Legislation and Regulation, 4th Edition (Foundation Press 2021). Supplementary materials, including updated readings related to administrative agencies, will also be provided. Elements used in grading: Class participation and final exam. Special Instructions: Students cannot take both Legislation LAW 7048 and Statutory Interpretation LAW 7041 due to overlapping content.