Topic
Statutory Interpretation
508 published works
Sentencing Law and Policy
On <em>Pulsifer</em> watch again after SCOTUS indicates opinions are coming to close this week.
Regular readers likely recall that I have been watching closely the Supreme Court sentencing case of Pulsifer v. United States, a statutory interpretation matter dealing with a (too) complicated sentencing…
Criminal
With possible opinions this week, might SCOTUS soon answer if “and” means “or” in <em>Pulsifer</em> safety valve case?
Regular readers likely recall that I have been watching closely the SCOTUS sentencing case of Pulsifer v. United States, a statutory interpretation matter dealing with a (too) complicated sentencing provision…
Bench & Bar of Minnesota
How judges read statutes: And how to write them so they won’t be misinterpreted
By Minnesota State Bar Association
By Justice Paul Thissen Statutes have many audiences. They communicate legislators’ values to their constituents or to more narrow interest groups. They communicate obligations and limitations imposed upon the people…
PrawfsBlawg
“Any” and a Daf Yomi Coincidence
Main Wednesday, January 03, 2024"Any" and a Daf Yomi CoincidenceI'm glad to report that my paper with Jim Brudney on "Any" is now out at the BYU Law Review. It…
PrawfsBlawg
Statutory Interpretation in the 2020s
Main Friday, December 22, 2023Statutory Interpretation in the 2020sMy comment with Nora Donnelly is now out in the Southern California Law Review Postscript. You can download the final version here.…
ImmigrationProf Blog
Practice Advisory: Common Tools of Statutory Construction for Criminal Removal Grounds
The American Immigration Council and the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, University of Minnesota Law School have released a new practice advisory,…
California Corporate & Securities Law Blog
How Long Is Six Months?
Statutory time periods can be ambiguous. For example, what does "six months" mean when one month has 28 or 29 days, other months have 30 days and still others have…
PrawfsBlawg
Guest Essay about SCOTUS in NY Times
Main Sunday, October 08, 2023Guest Essay about SCOTUS in NY TimesFor those interested and not otherwise distracted by serious events elsewhere, I wrote an essay with Nora Donnelly, a Fordham…
Appellate Advocacy Blog
All Words are Made Up: Thoughts on Using Dictionaries for Statutory Interpretation
I am a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of my favorite lines comes from Thor in Avengers: Infinity War. Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy…
Other
“Vagueness Avoidance”
The title of this post is the title of this recent article that I just saw on SSRN authored by Joel Johnson. Here is its abstract:Vagueness avoidance is a powerful…