Statutory Interpretation

This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation, focusing on the latter subject. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes are interpreted. We will spend our initial class meetings considering the perspective from which courts should interpret statutes. Courts often claim to interpret statutes from the perspective of an ordinary person, but statutes have technical language and often apply to heavily regulated areas of the economy. If the ordinary person perspective is unrealistic, we will consider whether the standard is that of an ordinary lawyer or member of Congress. Our focus will be on statutory interpretation done by the courts in the first instance. We will cover originalism, theories of linguistic indeterminacy, methodologies of interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. We will also examine doctrines of judicial deference to administrative agencies' statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, we will consider cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. Grades will be based on attendance, class participation, and a final exam.