Introduction
Once the bill drafters have done their job, the legislative body approves on a final version, and that version is sent to the governor (or President) for his/her signature, the bill is added to the jurisdiction's statutory code.
Despite best efforts, questions arise about how or when a specific laws applies to a real-life situation. Beyond reading the "plain language" of the law itself, researchers turn to other sources in search of guidance.
Rules of Construction
Each state has statutes on the "rules of construction." These are basically statutes about statutory interpretation.
In Washington, those rules are found in Chapter 1.12 of the Revised Code of Washington. For federal statutes, see 1 U.S.C. §§ 1-8.
Other states have similar provisions on the rules of construction, typically found in the first title of the statutory code. For exact citations, see Jacob Scott, Codified Canons and the Common Law of Interpretation, 98 Geo L. J. 341, 350-51 n. 35 (2010). HeinOnline [UW Restricted] Beginning at page 411, this article has a list of state laws providing "Statutory Sources of Interpretive Rules."
Treatises
-
Statutes and Statutory Construction, 7th ed.
Call Number: Reference Area (KF425 .S25 2007)Publication Date: 2007 to presentRecognized as a core text on statutory construction. Covers statutory interpretation and application of the principles of statutory construction in selected areas of substantive law. Updated by annual supplements. Available on Westlaw. Several people have authored various editions, but the set is often known by the original author: "Sutherland on Statutes and Statutory Construction." -
Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts
by Call Number: Reference Area & Classified Stacks (K290.S33 2012)Publication Date: 2012Explains the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation, with hundreds of illustrations from actual cases. Detailed table of contents lists blackletter rules. Appendix discusses use of dictionaries.
Study Aids
-
Legislation and Regulation in a Nutshell
by Call Number: Reference Area (KF4945 .H84 2017)Publication Date: 2017Also available in West Academic Study Aids online -
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation, 2d ed.
by Call Number: Reference Area (KF425 .E834 2006)Publication Date: 2007Also available in West Academic Study Aids online -
Legislative Law and Process in a Nutshell, 3d ed.
by Call Number: Reference Area (KF4933 .Z9 D38 2007)Publication Date: 2007Also available in West Academic Study Aids online -
Mastering Statutory Interpretation, 2d ed.
by Call Number: Classified Stacks (KF425 .J455 2013)Publication Date: 2013Explains methods of interpreting statutes, including a discussion of the various theories and canons of interpretation. Discusses intrinsic, extrinsic, and policy-based theories. -
Statutory Interpretation Stories
by Call Number: Reference Area (KF425 .S73 2011)Publication Date: 2011Each chapter focuses on a single leading case, with historical background, a procedural history of the case, and an analysis of doctrinal and other lessons from the case.
Also available in West Academic Study Aids online.
Other Books
-
Judging Statutes
by Call Number: Classified Stacks (KF425.K38 2014)Publication Date: 2014Argues that when courts interpret the laws of Congress, they should pay greater attention to how Congress actually functions, how lawmakers signal their meaning in statutes, and what they expect from those interpreting its laws. The legislative record behind a bill demands consideration. -
Karl Llewellyn's Dueling Canons in Perspective
by Call Number: Classified Stacks (KF425 .S56 2014)Publication Date: 2014In 1950 the great realist jurisprude Karl N. Llewellyn wrote that accepted rules of statutory interpretation led "in happily variant directions." He listed of twenty-eight pairs of canons, each pair a "thrust" and a "parry" having opposite effect. Llewellyn's thesis was widely considered devastating to the legitimacy of canons, and for almost half a century academic research on them virtually ceased. In this book Professor Sinclair carefully examines the twenty-eight pairs of "dueling canons" and shows that Llewellyn's list contains no real contradictions, nor even inconsistencies of significance, and that his thesis, however monumental, fails. -
Statutory Interpretation: A Practical Lawyering Course
by Call Number: Classified Stacks (KF425 .L486 2014)ISBN: 0314286632Publication Date: 2014Covers legislative negotiation and drafting and the complexities of the legislative process. -
The Theory and Practice of Statutory Interpretation
by Call Number: Classified Stacks (KF425 .C76 2009)Publication Date: 2009Addresses the theory and practice of statutory interpretation by courts. Thoroughly reviews the active disputes over the appropriate approaches to statutory interpretations, namely whether courts should rely exclusively on the text or also examine the legislative history. -
Traditional Tools of Statutory Interpretation
by Call Number: Reference Area (KF425 .S552 2013)Publication Date: 2013Introduces and explains the methods of interpretation used in interpreting and applying statutes. Covers techniques such as precedent, relation to context, canons of construction, and more contentiously, legislative history.
For more books on this topic, search the Library catalog with one of these subject headings:
- Law--United States--Interpretation and construction
- Legislative histories--United States
Additional Sources
-
Statutory Interpretation [CALI]A 30-minute lesson on "the doctrine and processes involved in interpreting state and federal statutes."
-
A Guide to Reading, Interpreting and Applying Statutes [Georgetown University Law Center]A 21-page guide that provides a good summary for law students.
