Statutory Interpretation

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to the legislative process that produces statues and the methods that are used by courts, lawyers, and others to interpret them. Among the tools of statutory interpretation that we will consider include the use of dictionaries, legislative history, statutory purpose, and canons of construction. Additionally, we will cover various concepts important to statutory interpretation including legislative supremacy, the primacy of the legislative text, statutory uncertainty, changing statutory meaning, regulations, and the different roles and relationships among the legislative, judicial and executive branches. This foundational course builds on first-year doctrinal learning that exposes students to statutes, regulations, and rules while comparing and contrasting these forms of law to the common law and its evolution.