Judging Statutes

Judging Statutes PDF Author: Robert A. Katzmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199362149
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
In an ideal world, the laws of Congress--known as federal statutes--would always be clearly worded and easily understood by the judges tasked with interpreting them. But many laws feature ambiguous or even contradictory wording. How, then, should judges divine their meaning? Should they stick only to the text? To what degree, if any, should they consult aids beyond the statutes themselves? Are the purposes of lawmakers in writing law relevant? Some judges, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, believe courts should look to the language of the statute and virtually nothing else. Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit respectfully disagrees. In Judging Statutes, Katzmann, who is a trained political scientist as well as a judge, argues that our constitutional system charges Congress with enacting laws; therefore, how Congress makes its purposes known through both the laws themselves and reliable accompanying materials should be respected. He looks at how the American government works, including how laws come to be and how various agencies construe legislation. He then explains the judicial process of interpreting and applying these laws through the demonstration of two interpretative approaches, purposivism (focusing on the purpose of a law) and textualism (focusing solely on the text of the written law). Katzmann draws from his experience to show how this process plays out in the real world, and concludes with some suggestions to promote understanding between the courts and Congress. When courts interpret the laws of Congress, they should be mindful of how Congress actually functions, how lawmakers signal the meaning of statutes, and what those legislators expect of courts construing their laws. The legislative record behind a law is in truth part of its foundation, and therefore merits consideration.

Judging Statutes

Judging Statutes PDF Author: Robert A. Katzmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199362149
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Get Book Here

Book Description
In an ideal world, the laws of Congress--known as federal statutes--would always be clearly worded and easily understood by the judges tasked with interpreting them. But many laws feature ambiguous or even contradictory wording. How, then, should judges divine their meaning? Should they stick only to the text? To what degree, if any, should they consult aids beyond the statutes themselves? Are the purposes of lawmakers in writing law relevant? Some judges, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, believe courts should look to the language of the statute and virtually nothing else. Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit respectfully disagrees. In Judging Statutes, Katzmann, who is a trained political scientist as well as a judge, argues that our constitutional system charges Congress with enacting laws; therefore, how Congress makes its purposes known through both the laws themselves and reliable accompanying materials should be respected. He looks at how the American government works, including how laws come to be and how various agencies construe legislation. He then explains the judicial process of interpreting and applying these laws through the demonstration of two interpretative approaches, purposivism (focusing on the purpose of a law) and textualism (focusing solely on the text of the written law). Katzmann draws from his experience to show how this process plays out in the real world, and concludes with some suggestions to promote understanding between the courts and Congress. When courts interpret the laws of Congress, they should be mindful of how Congress actually functions, how lawmakers signal the meaning of statutes, and what those legislators expect of courts construing their laws. The legislative record behind a law is in truth part of its foundation, and therefore merits consideration.

Comparative Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Omnibus Legislation

Comparative Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Omnibus Legislation PDF Author: Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030727483
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This book is the first in the world to provide a cross-national, comparative exploration of omnibus legislation. It contributes to the global debate over omnibus legislation and offers comprehensive, thorough and multifaceted coverage that concerns the fields of legislation and legisprudence, comparative law, political science, public policy and economics. Beyond its relevance for these fields, the book will support practitioners in parliaments, governments and courts, thereby impacting the actual use of omnibus legislation. A new, major and controversial reform is enacted in the middle of the night. It is buried in a massive omnibus bill hundreds of pages in length, which is rammed through the legislative process at breakneck speed. The legislators receive the final version of the bill in the very last minute, and protest that they’ve had no opportunity to read it in detail and know what they’re voting upon. The majority party’s legislative leaders, however, are unimpressed, and the law is eventually passed on the basis of strict party discipline. Though it may sound far-fetched, this scenario is all too familiar in many legislatures around the world. The legislative practice of combining numerous unrelated measures in one long bill, which is often passed via a highly expedited process, has become a matter of intense debate and criticism in many countries.

Alwd Citation Manual

Alwd Citation Manual PDF Author: Darby Dickerson
Publisher: Aspen Publishers
ISBN: 9780735595415
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, now in its Fourth Edition, upholds a single and consistent system of citation for all forms of legal writing. Clearly and attractively presented in an easy-to-use format, edited by Darby Dickerson, a leading authority on American legal citation, the ALWD Citation Manual is simply an outstanding teaching tool. Endorsed by the Association of Legal Writing Directors, (ALWD), a nationwide society of legal writing program directors, the ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, features a single, consistent, logical system of citation that can be used for any type of legal document complete coverage of the citation rules that includes: - basic citation - citation for primary and secondary sources - citation of electronic sources - how to incorporate citations into documents - how to quote material and edit quotes properly - court-specific citation formats, commonly used abbreviations, and a sample legal memorandum with proper citation in the Appendices two-color page design that flags key points and highlights examples Fast Formatsquick guides for double-checking citations and Sidebars with facts and tips for avoiding common problems diagrams and charts that illustrate citation style at a glance The Fourth Edition provides facsimiles of research sources that a first-year law student would use, annotated with the elements in each citation and a sample citation for each flexible citation options for (1) the United States as a party to a suit and (2) using contractions in abbreviations new rules addressing citation of interdisciplinary sources (e.g., plays, concerts, operas) and new technology (e.g., Twitter, e-readers, YouTube video) updated examples throughout the text expanded list of law reviews in Appendix 5 Indispensable by design, the ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, Fourth Edition, keeps on getting better

A Republic of Statutes

A Republic of Statutes PDF Author: William N. Eskridge (Jr.)
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300120885
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 591

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Book Description
William Eskridge and John Ferejohn propose an original theory of constitutional law whereby, while the Constitution provides a vision, our democracy advances by means of statutes that supplement or even supplant the written Constitution.

United States Code

United States Code PDF Author: United States
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1506

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Book Description
"The United States Code is the official codification of the general and permanent laws of the United States of America. The Code was first published in 1926, and a new edition of the code has been published every six years since 1934. The 2012 edition of the Code incorporates laws enacted through the One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session, the last of which was signed by the President on January 15, 2013. It does not include laws of the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, enacted between January 2, 2013, the date it convened, and January 15, 2013. By statutory authority this edition may be cited "U.S.C. 2012 ed." As adopted in 1926, the Code established prima facie the general and permanent laws of the United States. The underlying statutes reprinted in the Code remained in effect and controlled over the Code in case of any discrepancy. In 1947, Congress began enacting individual titles of the Code into positive law. When a title is enacted into positive law, the underlying statutes are repealed and the title then becomes legal evidence of the law. Currently, 26 of the 51 titles in the Code have been so enacted. These are identified in the table of titles near the beginning of each volume. The Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives continues to prepare legislation pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 285b to enact the remainder of the Code, on a title-by-title basis, into positive law. The 2012 edition of the Code was prepared and published under the supervision of Ralph V. Seep, Law Revision Counsel. Grateful acknowledgment is made of the contributions by all who helped in this work, particularly the staffs of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and the Government Printing Office"--Preface.

Model Rules of Professional Conduct

Model Rules of Professional Conduct PDF Author: American Bar Association. House of Delegates
Publisher: American Bar Association
ISBN: 9781590318737
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

The Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style PDF Author: University of Chicago. Press
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780226104041
Category : Authorship
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Searchable electronic version of print product with fully hyperlinked cross-references.

Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations

Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Annotations and citations (Law)
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
"Formerly known as the International Citation Manual"--p. xv.

A Common Law for the Age of Statutes

A Common Law for the Age of Statutes PDF Author: Guido Calabresi
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674029151
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
The dominance of legislatures and statutory law has put an impossible burden on the courts. Guido Calabresi thinks it is time for this country seriously to consider returning to a traditional American judicial–legislative balance in which courts would enlarge the common law and would also decide when a rule of law has seen its day and should be revised.

Water Code

Water Code PDF Author: Texas
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Water
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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Book Description