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| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Reading Law Antonin Scalia, Bryan A. Garner, 2012 In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation in an engaging and informative style with hundreds of illustrations from actual cases. Is a burrito a sandwich? Is a corporation entitled to personal privacy? If you trade a gun for drugs, are you using a gun in a drug transaction? The authors grapple with these and dozens of equally curious questions while explaining the most principled, lucid, and reliable techniques for deriving meaning from authoritative texts. Meanwhile, the book takes up some of the most controversial issues in modern jurisprudence. What, exactly, is textualism? Why is strict construction a bad thing? What is the true doctrine of originalism? And which is more important: the spirit of the law, or the letter? The authors write with a well-argued point of view that is definitive yet nuanced, straightforward yet sophisticated. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legal Interpretation: Perspectives from Other Disciplines and Private Texts Kent Greenawalt, 2010-10-27 In Legal Interpretation, Kent Greenawalt focuses on the complex and multi-faceted topic of textual interpretation of the law. All law needs to be interpreted, and there are many ways to do it. But what sorts of questions must one seek to answer in interpreting law and what approach should one take in each case? Whose interpretations should be prioritized? Why would one be drawn to one strategy over another? And should legal interpretation seek to satisfy specific aims or general objectives? In order to provide the answers to these questions, Greenawalt explores the ways in which interpretive strategies from other disciplines--the philosophy of language, literary and musical interpretation, religious interpretation, and general interpretive theory--can augment and enrich methods of legal interpretation. Over the course of the book, he suggests how such forms of interpretation are analogous to legal interpretation--and points to those cases in which interpretation must rest on the distinctive aspects of legal theory, such as is the case with private documents. Furthermore, Greenawalts meditation suggests that interpretive strategies from other disciplines can shed light on the essential nature of legal interpretation and provide roads by which to account for dissonance between various methods of interpretation. Legal Interpretation is a thought-provoking reflection on the ways that insights from a range of intellectual traditions can deepen our understanding of law, particularly with regard to constitutional law. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Nino and Me Bryan A. Garner, 2019-05-21 From legal expert and veteran author Bryan Garner comes a unique, intimate, and compelling memoir of his friendship with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. For almost thirty years, Antonin Scalia was arguably the most influential and controversial Justice on the United States Supreme Court. His dynamic and witty writing devoted to the Constitution has influenced an entire generation of judges. Based on his reputation for using scathing language to criticize liberal court decisions, many people presumed Scalia to be gruff and irascible. But to those who knew him as “Nino,” he was characterized by his warmth, charm, devotion, fierce intelligence, and loyalty. Bryan Garner’s friendship with Justice Scalia was instigated by celebrated writer David Foster Wallace and strengthened over their shared love of language. Despite their differing viewpoints on everything from gun control to the use of contractions, their literary and personal relationship flourished. Justice Scalia even officiated at Garner’s wedding. In this humorous, touching, and surprisingly action-packed memoir, Garner gives a firsthand insight into the mind, habits, and faith of one of the most famous and misunderstood judges in the world. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: A Matter of Interpretation Elizabeth Mac Donald, 2021-06 It's 13th-century Europe and a young monk, Michael Scot, has been asked by the Holy Roman Emperor to translate the works of Aristotle and recover his lost knowledge. The Scot sets to his task, traveling from the Emperor's Italian court to the translation schools of Toledo and from there to the Moorish library of Córdoba. But when the Pope deems the translations heretical, the Scot refuses to desist. So begins a battle for power between Church and State--one that has shaped how we view the world today. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Making Your Case Antonin Scalia, Bryan A. Garner, 2008 In their professional lives, courtroom lawyers must do these two things well: speak persuasively and write persuasively. In this noteworthy book, two noted legal writers systematically present every important idea about judicial persuasion in a fresh, entertaining way. The book covers the essentials of sound legal reasoning, including how to develop the syllogism that underlies any argument. From there the authors explain the art of brief writing, especially what to include and what to omit, so that you can induce the judge to focus closely on your arguments. Finally, they show what it takes to succeed in oral argument. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Judging Statutes Robert A. Katzmann, 2014-08-14 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. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Statutory and Common Law Interpretation Kent Greenawalt, 2013 Kent Greenwalt's second volume on aspects of legal interpretation analyzes statutory and common law interpretation, suggesting that multiple factors are important for each, and that the relation between them influences both. The book argues against any simple textualism, claiming that even reader understanding of statutes depends partly on perceived intent. In respect to common law interpretation, use of reasoning by analogy is defended and any simple dichotomy of holding and dictum is resisted. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: A Matter of Interpretation Antonin Scalia, 2018-01-30 We are all familiar with the image of the immensely clever judge who discerns the best rule of common law for the case at hand. According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a judge like this can maneuver through earlier cases to achieve the desired aim—“distinguishing one prior case on his left, straight-arming another one on his right, high-stepping away from another precedent about to tackle him from the rear, until (bravo!) he reaches the goal—good law. But is this common-law mindset, which is appropriate in its place, suitable also in statutory and constitutional interpretation? In a witty and trenchant essay, Justice Scalia answers this question with a resounding negative. In exploring the neglected art of statutory interpretation, Scalia urges that judges resist the temptation to use legislative intention and legislative history. In his view, it is incompatible with democratic government to allow the meaning of a statute to be determined by what the judges think the lawgivers meant rather than by what the legislature actually promulgated. Eschewing the judicial lawmaking that is the essence of common law, judges should interpret statutes and regulations by focusing on the text itself. Scalia then extends this principle to constitutional law. He proposes that we abandon the notion of an everchanging Constitution and pay attention to the Constitution's original meaning. Although not subscribing to the “strict constructionism” that would prevent applying the Constitution to modern circumstances, Scalia emphatically rejects the idea that judges can properly “smuggle” in new rights or deny old rights by using the Due Process Clause, for instance. In fact, such judicial discretion might lead to the destruction of the Bill of Rights if a majority of the judges ever wished to reach that most undesirable of goals. This essay is followed by four commentaries by Professors Gordon Wood, Laurence Tribe, Mary Ann Glendon, and Ronald Dworkin, who engage Justice Scalia’s ideas about judicial interpretation from varying standpoints. In the spirit of debate, Justice Scalia responds to these critics. Featuring a new foreword that discusses Scalia’s impact, jurisprudence, and legacy, this witty and trenchant exchange illuminates the brilliance of one of the most influential legal minds of our time. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Nature of Legal Interpretation Brian G. Slocum, 2017-05-17 Language shapes and reflects how we think about the world. It engages and intrigues us. Our everyday use of language is quite effortless—we are all experts on our native tongues. Despite this, issues of language and meaning have long flummoxed the judges on whom we depend for the interpretation of our most fundamental legal texts. Should a judge feel confident in defining common words in the texts without the aid of a linguist? How is the meaning communicated by the text determined? Should the communicative meaning of texts be decisive, or at least influential? To fully engage and probe these questions of interpretation, this volume draws upon a variety of experts from several fields, who collectively examine the interpretation of legal texts. In The Nature of Legal Interpretation, the contributors argue that the meaning of language is crucial to the interpretation of legal texts, such as statutes, constitutions, and contracts. Accordingly, expert analysis of language from linguists, philosophers, and legal scholars should influence how courts interpret legal texts. Offering insightful new interdisciplinary perspectives on originalism and legal interpretation, these essays put forth a significant and provocative discussion of how best to characterize the nature of language in legal texts. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Interpreting Law William N. Eskridge (Jr.), 2016 Interpreting Law is an accessible introduction to statutory and constitutional interpretation by the nation's leading legislation scholar. This concise treatise not only identifies the primary canons or precepts that guide interpretation, but demonstrates how they operate and interact, as a matter of both practice and evolving aspiration. Unlike earlier academic treatises, which rummage through a potpourri of often arcane Supreme Court decisions, Professor Eskridge's new book focuses on a statute prohibiting vehicles in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. Each chapter engages the law student and the experienced practitioner to consider the application of the statute and its statutory and institutional context to a wide and often delightful array of situations. As the preface by Justice John Paul Stevens suggests, the reader will emerge from this book with a deeply enriched understanding of-and excitement about-legal interpretation. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Statutory Interpretation Douglas Walton, Fabrizio Macagno, Giovanni Sartor, 2021-01-21 Combining pragmatics, dialectics, analytics, and legal theory, this work translates interpretative canons into patterns of natural argument. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legal Writing in Plain English Bryan A. Garner, 2013-08-26 “This easy-to-follow guide is useful both as a general course of instruction and as a targeted aid in solving particular legal writing problems.” —Harvard Law Review Clear, concise, down-to-earth, and powerful—all too often, legal writing embodies none of these qualities. Its reputation for obscurity and needless legalese is widespread. For more than twenty years, Bryan A. Garner’s Legal Writing in Plain English has helped address this problem by providing lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this indispensable volume encourages legal writers to challenge conventions and offers valuable insights into the writing process that will appeal to other professionals: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. Accessible and witty, Legal Writing in Plain English draws on real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching. Trenchant advice covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting, and the book’s principles are reinforced by sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section. In this new edition, Garner preserves the successful structure of the original while adjusting the content to make it even more classroom-friendly. He includes case examples from the past decade and addresses the widespread use of legal documents in electronic formats. His book remains the standard guide for producing the jargon-free language that clients demand and courts reward. “Those who are willing to approach the book systematically and to complete the exercises will see dramatic improvements in their writing.” —Law Library Journal |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Purposive Interpretation in Law Aharon Barak, 2011-10-16 This book presents a comprehensive theory of legal interpretation, by a leading judge and legal theorist. Currently, legal philosophers and jurists apply different theories of interpretation to constitutions, statutes, rules, wills, and contracts. Aharon Barak argues that an alternative approach--purposive interpretation--allows jurists and scholars to approach all legal texts in a similar manner while remaining sensitive to the important differences. Moreover, regardless of whether purposive interpretation amounts to a unifying theory, it would still be superior to other methods of interpretation in tackling each kind of text separately. Barak explains purposive interpretation as follows: All legal interpretation must start by establishing a range of semantic meanings for a given text, from which the legal meaning is then drawn. In purposive interpretation, the text's purpose is the criterion for establishing which of the semantic meanings yields the legal meaning. Establishing the ultimate purpose--and thus the legal meaning--depends on the relationship between the subjective and objective purposes; that is, between the original intent of the text's author and the intent of a reasonable author and of the legal system at the time of interpretation. This is easy to establish when the subjective and objective purposes coincide. But when they don't, the relative weight given to each purpose depends on the nature of the text. For example, subjective purpose is given substantial weight in interpreting a will; objective purpose, in interpreting a constitution. Barak develops this theory with masterful scholarship and close attention to its practical application. Throughout, he contrasts his approach with that of textualists and neotextualists such as Antonin Scalia, pragmatists such as Richard Posner, and legal philosophers such as Ronald Dworkin. This book represents a profoundly important contribution to legal scholarship and a major alternative to interpretive approaches advanced by other leading figures in the judicial world. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legal Literacy Archie Zariski, 2014-10-01 To understand how the legal system works, students must consider the law in terms of its structures, processes, language, and modes of thought and argument—in short, they must become literate in the field. Legal Literacy fulfills this aim by providing a foundational understanding of key concepts such as legal personhood, jurisdiction, and precedent, and by introducing students to legal research and writing skills. Examples of cases, statutes, and other legal materials support these concepts. While Legal Literacy is an introductory text, it also challenges students to consider critically the system they are studying. Touching on significant socio-legal issues such as access to justice, legal jargon, and plain language, Zariski critiques common legal traditions and practices, and analyzes what it means “to think like a lawyer.” As such, the text provides a sound basis for those who wish to pursue further studies in law or legal studies as well as those seeking a better understanding of how the legal field relates to the society that it serves. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Garner on Language and Writing Bryan A. Garner, 2009 Since the 1987 appearance of A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, Bryan A. Garner has proved to be a versatile and prolific writer on legal-linguistic subjects. This collection of his essays shows both profound scholarship and sharp wit. The essays cover subjects as wide-ranging as learning to write, style, persuasion, contractual and legislative drafting, grammar, lexicography, writing in law school, writing in law practice, judicial writing, and all the literature relating to these diverse subjects. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Language and Law Alan Durant, Janny HC Leung, 2017-05-08 Language plays an essential role both in creating law and in governing its implementation. Providing an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this subject, Language and Law: describes the different registers and genres that make up spoken and written legal language and how they develop over time; analyses real-life examples drawn from court cases from different parts of the world, illustrating the varieties of English used in the courtroom by speakers occupying different roles; addresses the challenges presented to our notions of law and regulation by online communication; discusses the complex role of translation in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and Canada; and provides readings from key scholars in the discipline, including Lawrence Solan, Peter Goodrich, Marianne Constable, David Mellinkoff, and Chris Heffer. With a wide range of activities throughout, this accessible textbook is essential reading for anyone studying language and law or forensic linguistics. Sections A, B, and C of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315436258 |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Essential Scalia Antonin Scalia, 2020-09-15 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his own words: the definitive collection of his opinions, speeches, and articles on the most essential and vexing legal questions, with an intimate foreword by Justice Elena Kagan “[Scalia’s writings] are as readable today as they were when they first appeared. . . . Especially illuminating to anyone who wants to unlock the mystery of why Ginsburg admired Scalia—or who wants to get a sense of where the Supreme Court may be headed.”—The Wall Street Journal A justice on the United States Supreme Court for three decades, Antonin Scalia transformed the way that judges, lawyers, and citizens think about the law. The Essential Scalia presents Justice Scalia on his own terms, allowing readers to understand the reasoning and insights that made him one of the most consequential jurists in American history. Known for his forceful intellect and remarkable wit, Scalia mastered the art of writing in a way that both educated and entertained. This comprehensive collection draws from the best of Scalia’s opinions, essays, speeches, and testimony to paint a complete and nuanced portrait of his jurisprudence. This compendium addresses the hot-button issues of the times, from abortion and the right to bear arms to marriage, free speech, religious liberty, and so much more. It also presents the justice’s wise insights on perennial debates over the structure of government created by our Constitution and the proper methods for interpreting our laws. Brilliant and passionately argued, The Essential Scalia is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to understand our Constitution, the American legal system, and one of our nation’s most influential and highly regarded jurists and thinkers. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts Bryan A. Garner, 2004-02-13 Good legal writing wins court cases. It its first edition, The Winning Brief proved that the key to writing well is understanding the judicial readership. Now, in a revised and updated version of this modern classic, Bryan A. Garner explains the art of effective writing in 100 concise, practical, and easy-to-use sections. Covering everything from the rules for planning and organizing a brief to openers that can capture a judge's attention from the first few words, these tips add up to the most compelling, orderly, and visually appealing brief that an advocate can present. In Garner's view, good writing is good thinking put to paper. Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak, he warns-and demonstrates how to do just that. Beginning each tip with a set of quotable quotes from experts, he then gives masterly advice on building sound paragraphs, drafting crisp sentences, choosing the best words (Strike pursuant to from your vocabulary.), quoting authority, citing sources, and designing a document that looks as impressive as it reads. Throughout, he shows how to edit for maximal impact, using vivid before-and-after examples that apply the basics of rhetoric to persuasive writing. Filled with examples of good and bad writing from actual briefs filed in courts of all types, The Winning Brief also covers the new appellate rules for preparing federal briefs. Constantly collecting material from his seminars and polling judges for their preferences, the second edition delivers the same solid guidelines with even more supporting evidence. Including for the first time sections on the ever-changing rules of acceptable legal writing, Garner's new edition keeps even the most seasoned lawyers on their toes and writing briefs that win cases. An invaluable resource for attorneys, law clerks, judges, paralegals, law students and their teachers, The Winning Brief has the qualities that make all of Garner's books so popular: authority, accessibility, and page after page of techniques that work. If you're writing to win a case, this book shouldn't merely be on your shelf--it should be open on your desk. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Interpretation and Application of Statutes Frederick Reed Dickerson, 1975 This work discusses the constitutional foundations that govern the relations between the legislature and the courts and the issues of separation of powers with respect to statutes. Concepts of legislative meaning, intent, purpose, and context are described in detail. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Reflections on Judging Richard A. Posner, 2013-10-07 In Reflections on Judging, Richard Posner distills the experience of his thirty-one years as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Surveying how the judiciary has changed since his 1981 appointment, he engages the issues at stake today, suggesting how lawyers should argue cases and judges decide them, how trials can be improved, and, most urgently, how to cope with the dizzying pace of technological advance that makes litigation ever more challenging to judges and lawyers. For Posner, legal formalism presents one of the main obstacles to tackling these problems. Formalist judges--most notably Justice Antonin Scalia--needlessly complicate the legal process by advocating canons of constructions (principles for interpreting statutes and the Constitution) that are confusing and self-contradictory. Posner calls instead for a renewed commitment to legal realism, whereby a good judge gathers facts, carefully considers context, and comes to a sensible conclusion that avoids inflicting collateral damage on other areas of the law. This, Posner believes, was the approach of the jurists he most admires and seeks to emulate: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, Learned Hand, Robert Jackson, and Henry Friendly, and it is an approach that can best resolve our twenty-first-century legal disputes. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: United States Code United States, 2013 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. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Model Rules of Professional Conduct American Bar Association. House of Delegates, Center for Professional Responsibility (American Bar Association), 2007 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. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Language of Statutes Lawrence Solan, 2010-12 We are capable of writing crisp yet flexible laws, but Solan explains that difficult cases result when the ways in which our cognitive and linguistic faculties are structured fail to produce a single, clear interpretation. Though we are predisposed to absorb new situations into categories we have previously formed, our conceptualization is not always as crisp as the legislative and judicial realms demand. In such cases, Solan contends that other values, most importantly legislative intent, must come into play. The Language of Statutes provides an excellent introduction to statutory interpretation, rejecting the extreme arguments that judges have either too much or too little leeway, and explaining how and why a certain number of interpretive problems are simply inevitable. --Book Jacket. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Modern Legal Interpretation Marko Novak, Vojko Strahovnik, 2019-01-24 Legalism or legal formalism usually depicts judges as resolving cases by allegedly merely applying pre-existing legal rules. They do not seem to legislate, exercise discretion, balance or pursue policies, and they definitely do not look outside of conventional legal texts for guidance in deciding new cases. For them, the law is an autonomous domain of knowledge and technique. What they follow are the maxims of clarity, determinacy, and coherence of law. This perception of law and adjudication is sometimes designated as “an orthodox lawyering”. However, at least in certain cases, it is very difficult to say that legalism is not an inappropriate theory or a method of legal interpretation. Different theories have attested that legal interpretation is much more than just legalism, which appears to be far too naïve. In the framework of modern legal interpretation, the following questions can be raised. Is it possible to integrate legalism in a coherent theory of legal interpretation? Is legalism as a distinctive theory of legal interpretation still a feasible theory of interpretation? How can such a formalist approach withstand a critique from Dworkinian moral interpretivism or accusations of being a myth, masking political preferences from legal realists? These and many other issues about legal interpretation are discussed in this book by prominent legal philosophers and legal theorists. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Statutory Construction and Interpretation , 2010-06-15 This book reviews the primary rules courts apply to discern a statute's meaning. However, each matter of interpretation before a court presents its own challenges, and there is no unified, systematic approach used in all cases. While schools of statutory interpretation may vary on what factors should be considered, all approaches start (if not necessarily end) with the language and structure of the statute itself. In analyzing a statute's text, courts are guided by the basic principle that a statute should be read as a harmonious whole, with its separate parts being interpreted within their broader statutory context. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legal Methods JANE C.. LOUK GINSBURG (DAVID S.), David S. Louk, 2020-06-25 This updated casebook serves a course in introduction to legal reasoning. It is designed to initiate students in the legal methods of case law analysis and statutory interpretation. In a course of this kind, students should acquire or refine the techniques of close reading, analogizing, distinguishing, positing related fact patterns, and criticizing judicial and legislative exposition and logic. Law students' introduction to law can be unsettling: the sink or swim approach favored by many schools casts students adrift in a sea of substantive rules, forms and methods. By contrast, the Legal Methods course seeks to acquaint students with their new rhetorical and logical surroundings before, or together with, the students' first encounters with the substance of contracts, torts, or other first year courses. This approach may not only be user friendly; it should also prompt students to take a critical distance from the wielding of the methods. In this way, students may avoid (or at least broaden) the tunnel vision that so often afflicts beginning law students. The fifth edition features a substantially revised chapter on statutory interpretation. It not only highlights recent Supreme Court decisions, but also confronts students with statutory texts to construe independently of judicial exposition. The chapter also includes new sections on ordinary meaning, the use of dictionaries and corpus linguistics, and temporal problems in statutory interpretation. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Statutory Interpretation Ruth Sullivan, 2007 The book's primary focus is on the techniques and reasoning used by lawyers and judges to resolve interpretation problems. The book deciphers the often confusing rules of interpretation, explains the way these rules relate to each other, and focuses on the strategic use of the rules in constructing arguments and justifying outcomes. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Law of Judicial Precedent Bryan A. Garner, Carlos Tiburcio Bea, Rebecca White Berch, Neil McGill Gorsuch, Harris L Hartz, Nathan L. Hecht, Brett Kavanaugh, Alex Kozinski, Sandra Lea Lynch, William H. Pryor (Jr.), Thomas Morrow Reavley, Jeffrey Stuart Sutton, Diane P. Wood, 2016 The Law of Judicial Precedent is the first hornbook-style treatise on the doctrine of precedent in more than a century. It is the product of 13 distinguished coauthors, 12 of whom are appellate judges whose professional work requires them to deal with precedents daily. Together with their editor and coauthor, Bryan A. Garner, the judges have thoroughly researched and explored the many intricacies of the doctrine as it guides the work of American lawyers and judges. The treatise is organized into nine major topics, comprising 93 blackletter sections that elucidate all the major doctrines relating to how past decisions guide future ones in our common-law system. The authors' goal was to make the book theoretically sound, historically illuminating, and relentlessly practical. The breadth and depth of research involved in producing the book will be immediately apparent to anyone who browses its pages and glances over the footnotes: it would have been all but impossible for any single author to canvass the literature so comprehensively and then distill the concepts so cohesively into a single authoritative volume. More than 2,500 illustrative cases discussed or cited in the text illuminate the points covered in each section and demonstrate the law's development over several centuries. The cases are explained in a clear, commonsense way, making the book accessible to anyone seeking to understand the role of precedents in American law. Never before have so many eminent coauthors produced a single lawbook without signed sections, but instead writing with a single voice. Whether you are a judge, a lawyer, a law student, or even a nonlawyer curious about how our legal system works, you're sure to find enlightening, helpful, and sometimes surprising insights into our system of justice. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legal Language Peter M. Tiersma, 1999 This history of legal language slices through the polysyllabic thicket of legalese. The text shows to what extent legalese is simply a product of its past and demonstrates that arcane vocabulary is not an inevitable feature of our legal system. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Redbook Bryan A. Garner, 2006 This book provides a comprehensive guide to the essential rules of legal writing. Unlike most style or grammar guides, it focuses on the special needs of legal writers, answering a wide spectrum of questions about grammar and style -- both rules and exceptions. It also gives detailed, authoritative advice on punctuation, capitalization, spelling, footnotes, and citations, with illustrations in legal context. Designed for law students, law professors, practicing lawyers, and judges, the work emphasizes the ways in which legal writing differs from other styles of technical writing. Its how-to sections deal with editing and proofreading, numbers and symbols, and overall document design. Features: * Cautions on use of 500 stuffy phrases and needless legalisms, along with their everyday English translations * Details rules for 800 words with required prepositions in certain contexts * Explains the correct usage of more than 1,000 words that are often troublesome to legal writers * Gives tips on preparing briefs and other court documents, opinion letters and demand letters, research memos, and contracts * Provides model documents of all types of legal documents and pleadings Reviews 200 terms of art that take on new meanings in legal contexts |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Point Made Ross Guberman, 2014-04 In Point Made, Ross Guberman uses the work of great advocates as the basis of a valuable, step-by-step brief-writing and motion-writing strategy for practitioners. The author takes an empirical approach, drawing heavily on the writings of the nation's 50 most influential lawyers. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legislation and Regulation John Manning, Matthew C. Stephenson, 2013 The updated casebook, Manning and Stephenson's Legislation and Regulation, 2d, is designed for a first-year class on Legislation & Regulation, and provides a proven, ready-to-use set of materials for those interested in introducing such a class to their 1L curriculum. The book focuses on the tools and methods of interpreting legal texts, using Supreme Court and other appellate decisions as the primary texts, yet the note material gently introduces students to applicable insights from political science, history, economics, and philosophy. The book aims to familiarize students with tools and techniques that lawyers and judges use when crafting legal arguments in statutory or regulatory contexts, and to give students a sense of the larger questions of institutional design implicated by these interpretive questions. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Legal Secrets Kim Lane Scheppele, 1988-11-15 Does the seller of a house have to tell the buyer that the water is turned off twelve hours a day? Does the buyer of a great quantity of tobacco have to inform the seller that the military blockade of the local port, which had depressed tobacco sales and lowered prices, is about to end? Courts say yes in the first case, no in the second. How can we understand the difference in judgments? And what does it say about whether the psychiatrist should disclose to his patient's girlfriend that the patient wants to kill her? Kim Lane Scheppele answers the question, Which secrets are legal secrets and what makes them so? She challenges the economic theory of law, which argues that judges decide cases in ways that maximize efficiency, and she shows that judges use equality as an important principle in their decisions. In the course of thinking about secrets, Scheppele also explores broader questions about judicial reasoning—how judges find meaning in legal texts and how they infuse every fact summary with the values of their legal culture. Finally, the specific insights about secrecy are shown to be consistent with a general moral theory of law that indicates what the content of law should be if the law is to be legitimate, a theory that sees legal justification as the opportunity to attract consent. This is more than a book about secrets. It is also a book about the limits of an economic view of law. Ultimately, it is a work in constructive legal theory, one that draws on moral philosophy, sociology, economics, and political theory to develop a new view of legal interpretation and legal morality. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Academic Legal Writing Eugene Volokh, 2003 Resource added for the Paralegal program 101101. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Elements of Legal Style Bryan A. Garner, 2002 Focusing on the argumentative, narrative, and descriptive style found in legal briefs and judicial opinions, this text should be a thought provoking examination of effective argumentation in law. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Ordinary Meaning Brian G. Slocum, 2015-12-22 Brian G. Slocum s Ordinary Meaning offers an extended legal-linguistic analysis of the eponymous interpretive doctrine. A centuries-old consensus exists among courts and legal scholars that words in legal texts should be interpreted in light of accepted standards of communication. Therefore the questions of what makes some meaning the ordinary one, and how the determinants of ordinary meaning are identified and conceptualized, are of crucial importance to the interpretation of legal texts. Arguing against reliance on acontextual dictionary definitions, Ordinary Meaning rigorously explores the contributions that specific context makes to meaning, along with linguistic phenomena such as indexicals and quantifiers. Slocum provides a theory and a robust general framework for how the determinants of ordinary meaning should be identified and developed. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Scalia Dissents Antonin Scalia, 2012-04-01 Brilliant. Colorful. Visionary. Tenacious. Witty. Since his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1986, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia has been described as all of these things and for good reason. He is perhaps the best-known justice on the Supreme Court today and certainly the most controversial. Yet most Americans have probably not read even one of his several hundred Supreme Court opinions. In Scalia Dissents, Kevin Ring, former counsel to the U.S. Senate's Constitution Subcommittee, lets Justice Scalia speak for himself. This volume—the first of its kind— showcases the quotable justice's take on many of today's most contentious constitutional debates. Scalia Dissentscontains over a dozen of the justice's most compelling and controversial opinions. Ring also provides helpful background on the opinions and a primer on Justice Scalia's judicial philosophy. Scalia Dissents is the perfect book for readers who love scintillating prose and penetrating insight on the most important constitutional issues of our time. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Statutory Interpretation HILLEL Y. LEVIN, 2020-10-22 This book is for instructors of Statutory Interpretation and related courses who want to introduce practical lawyering skills into the doctrinal curriculum. It is also comparatively inexpensive for students. Much like any law school case book, Statutory Interpretation: A Practical Lawyering Course covers the leading cases; but it also offers much more. For example, it includes: interpretive exercises to concretize lessons and to help students to self-assess their learning; legislative negotiation and drafting exercises to give students practical experience and a deeper understanding of the complexities of the legislative process; lawyers' briefs and case documents to help students understand how cases and arguments are put together; case files and brief-writing exercises to teach students to craft arguments based on their doctrinal studies; exercises that require students to problem-solve, prompting them to think strategically; a mix of heavily-edited, lightly-edited, and unedited cases to help students prepare to work in the real world; issues and questions for students to focus on as they read cases and other materials. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: Freedom's Law Ronald Dworkin, 1999 Dworkin's important book is a collection of essays which discuss almost all of the great constitutional issues of the last two decades, including abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, homosexuality, pornography, and free speech. Dworkin offers a consistently liberal view of the Constitution and argues that fidelity to it and to law demands that judges make moral judgments. He proposes that we all interpret the abstract language of the Constitution by reference to moral principles about political decency and justice. His 'moral reading' therefore brings political morality into the heart of constitutional law. The various chapters of this book were first published separately; now drawn together they provide the reader with a rich, full-length treatment of Dworkin's general theory of law. |
| reading law the interpretation of legal texts: The Indigo Book Christopher Jon Sprigman, 2017-07-11 This public domain book is an open and compatible implementation of the Uniform System of Citation. |
Full-Length Table of Contents - WordPress.com
Reading Law: the interpretation of legal texts — 1st ed. ––––p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Law—interpretation and construction. 2. Judicial Process—United …
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia
Reading Law Antonin Scalia,Bryan A. Garner,2012 In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and …
Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts
Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts. You won’t want to miss our August 21st luncheon with Justice Antonin Scalia and Professor Bryan A. Garner.
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Copy
This ebook, "Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts," provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and interpreting legal texts. It's essential reading for law students, practicing …
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts
Reading Law Antonin Scalia,Bryan A. Garner,2012 In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and …
Microsoft Word - Eskridge v4.2 - Columbia Law Review
READING LAW: THE INTERPRETATION OF LEGAL TEXTS. By Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner. St. Paul: West, 2012. Pp. 567. $49.95. William N. Eskridge, Jr.* In Reading Law, …
University of Houston Law Center
University of Houston Law Center
A Dozen Canons of Statutory and Constitutional Text Construction
A Dozen Canons of Statutory and Constitutional Text Construction. 1 Supremacy-of-Text Principle. The words of a governing text are of paramount concern, and what they convey, in …
G READING LAW - nacua.org
Scalia and Garner argue for an approach to reading legal texts that they call “the fair reading method. The method has three parts: textualism (an ” interpretive theory that equates the …
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, …
Five common canons of interpretations - Roetzel & Andress
Byran A. Garner’s Reading the Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts (West 2012); 11 Fla. Jur 2d Contracts 139–174 (2018); and 48A Fla. Jur. 2d Statutes 108–196 (2018). 1. The plain …
BOOK REVIEW THE POLITICS OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION : …
In a new book, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner describe and defend the textualist methodology for which Justice Scalia is famous.
Interpreting Legal Texts: What is, and What is not, Special about the Law
These cases divide into three types: (i) those. in which the texts say too little to produce any result, (ii) those in which the texts are inconsistent, and thus generate contradictory results, …
Scalia & Garnerâ s Reading Law: A Civil Law for the Age of ... - SSRN
19 Apr 2013 · This review essay shows how Scalia and Garner challenge common law and summarizes the content of their challenge. This article contrasts the methods of Reading Law …
Principles of Legal Interpretation - University of California, Los …
The Starting Point: Legal interpretation is the process or activity of using legal materials to ascertain what the law is, or, more precisely, to ascertain legal obligations, powers, rights, …
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, …
CRITICAL LEGAL READING: THE ELEMENTS, STRATEGIES, AND …
A Critical Legal Reading. Manarin et al identify two dimensions of critical reading: reading for academic purposes, and reading for social engagement. 9 In both dimensions they identify …
Reading Law: On Law as a Textual Phenomenon - JSTOR
Reading Law: On Law as a Textual Phenomenon. Ino Augsberg. Abstract. In contrast to recent German debates stating that jurisprudence should transform itself from a hermeneutic science …
The Meaning and the Mining of Legal Texts - Springer
The interpretation of legal texts, necessarily a normative undertaking, resists the mechanical application of rules, though still requiring a measure of predictability, coherence with other …
Full-Length Table of Contents - WordPress.com
Reading Law: the interpretation of legal texts — 1st ed. ––––p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Law—interpretation and construction. 2. Judicial Process—United States. 3. Law—philosophy. 4. Statutes—United States. 5. Jurisprudence. 6. Law—methodology. I. Scalia, Antonin, 1936– I. Garner, Bryan A ...
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia
Reading Law Antonin Scalia,Bryan A. Garner,2012 In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation in an engaging and informative
Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts
Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts. You won’t want to miss our August 21st luncheon with Justice Antonin Scalia and Professor Bryan A. Garner.
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Copy
This ebook, "Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts," provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and interpreting legal texts. It's essential reading for law students, practicing lawyers, and anyone needing to navigate the complexities of legal language.
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts
Reading Law Antonin Scalia,Bryan A. Garner,2012 In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation in an engaging and informative
Microsoft Word - Eskridge v4.2 - Columbia Law Review
READING LAW: THE INTERPRETATION OF LEGAL TEXTS. By Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner. St. Paul: West, 2012. Pp. 567. $49.95. William N. Eskridge, Jr.* In Reading Law, Justice Scalia and his coauthor, Professor Bryan Garner, promise that text-based statutory interpretation can be rendered
University of Houston Law Center
University of Houston Law Center
A Dozen Canons of Statutory and Constitutional Text Construction
A Dozen Canons of Statutory and Constitutional Text Construction. 1 Supremacy-of-Text Principle. The words of a governing text are of paramount concern, and what they convey, in their context, is what the text means.
G READING LAW - nacua.org
Scalia and Garner argue for an approach to reading legal texts that they call “the fair reading method. The method has three parts: textualism (an ” interpretive theory that equates the meaning of legal texts with original public meaning); a theory of valid canons (judge-made interpretive rules or
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation in an engaging and informative style - with hundreds of …
Five common canons of interpretations - Roetzel & Andress
Byran A. Garner’s Reading the Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts (West 2012); 11 Fla. Jur 2d Contracts 139–174 (2018); and 48A Fla. Jur. 2d Statutes 108–196 (2018). 1. The plain language controls—almost always. No canon is more important than this one: a legal text’s plain language is the first—and often
BOOK REVIEW THE POLITICS OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION : …
In a new book, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner describe and defend the textualist methodology for which Justice Scalia is famous.
Interpreting Legal Texts: What is, and What is not, Special about the Law
These cases divide into three types: (i) those. in which the texts say too little to produce any result, (ii) those in which the texts are inconsistent, and thus generate contradictory results, and (iii) those in which the texts yield a single result, which is, paradoxically, legally incorrect.
Scalia & Garnerâ s Reading Law: A Civil Law for the Age of ... - SSRN
19 Apr 2013 · This review essay shows how Scalia and Garner challenge common law and summarizes the content of their challenge. This article contrasts the methods of Reading Law with the methods of the Continental civil law. It shows that textualism is …
Principles of Legal Interpretation - University of California, Los …
The Starting Point: Legal interpretation is the process or activity of using legal materials to ascertain what the law is, or, more precisely, to ascertain legal obligations, powers, rights, privileges, and so on.
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia
Reading Law The Interpretation Of Legal Texts Antonin Scalia In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation in an engaging and informative style - with hundreds of …
CRITICAL LEGAL READING: THE ELEMENTS, STRATEGIES, AND …
A Critical Legal Reading. Manarin et al identify two dimensions of critical reading: reading for academic purposes, and reading for social engagement. 9 In both dimensions they identify four key elements: the ability to comprehend, analyse, interpret and evaluate texts.
Reading Law: On Law as a Textual Phenomenon - JSTOR
Reading Law: On Law as a Textual Phenomenon. Ino Augsberg. Abstract. In contrast to recent German debates stating that jurisprudence should transform itself from a hermeneutic science of texts into a practical science of decision making, this essay proposes a return to the text.
The Meaning and the Mining of Legal Texts - Springer
The interpretation of legal texts, necessarily a normative undertaking, resists the mechanical application of rules, though still requiring a measure of predictability, coherence with other relevant legal norms, and compliance with constitutional safeguards.
