Class 6: Linguistic Canons
What textual tools and techniques can we use to try to determine the meaning of a statute? We’ve already seen several deployed in the cases we have read—like the assumption that words are used consistently across a statute (or even across the entire code), or the assumption that Congress does not write statutes with redundancies (the anti-surplussage canon).
For this class we will canvas a number of such tools and techniques, which are often called “canons” of statutory construction. The best way to learn these techniques is to practice them, so along with the reading please complete the problem set below before our class meeting.
Reading:
Background (275-79)
Babbit v. Sweet Home (1011-23)
Garner and Scalia, Reading Law (table of contents)
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