Topic
Statutory Interpretation
511 published works
Environmental Law Prof Blog
The Disappearing and Reappearing Ambiguity of Section 404
Consider a few quotes from two recent opinions addressing section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The same justice couldn't possibly have signed on to both, could he? Opinion 1:…
Labor Law Prof Blog
Widiss on Gross Hydras and Statutory Interpretation
That's me on the left. That's a hydra on the right, the metaphor Deborah Widiss uses in her new article, now available on SSRN.. The title is Undermining Congressional Overrides:…
Constitutional Law Prof Blog
Arkansas Statute Criminalizing Student-Teacher Sex Held Unconstitutional
By ConLawProf initials at end of post
Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-125(a)(6) (Repl. 2009) provides that a person commits sexual assault in the second degree if the person is a teacher in a public school in a…
The Faculty Lounge
Is It Really a Joke to Expect Justices to Read Statutes?
Ever since Marbury v. Madison, basic constitutional law has said that the Supreme Court can review statutes for their constitutionality. It's an extraordinary power to sit in judgment of a…
Employment & Labor
Using Congressional Policy – Part 1 – Introduction
You’re standing in a room, holding a book in your hands. Another person walks in, and shouts, “Put that book down immediately!” You turn and ask the reason for the…
Sentencing Law and Policy
ACCAen bancdenial splits Fourth Circuit 7-7 and produces sharp opinions
Main March 6, 2012ACCA en banc denial splits Fourth Circuit 7-7 and produces sharp opinionsA helpful reader alerted me to the series of notable opinion emerging from the Fourth Circuit…
The Conglomerate Blog: Business, Law, Economics & Society
Judge Posner and Corpus Linguistics
By Gordon Smith
In a recent opinion, Judge Posner wanted to know more about the meaning of "harboring," and he didn't find what he wanted in a dictionary. "Dictionary definitions are acontextual," he…
Environmental Law Prof Blog
Ambiguity’s Ambiguities
My administrative law class recently covered Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Our casebook (Funk, Shapiro, and Weaver, which I highly recommend) uses problems, and at the end of the…
Surf and Turf Law
Longshore Act at SCOTUS – Transcript Available – Roberts v. Sea-land Services
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Roberts v. Sea-Land Services case. The transcript of oral arguments is here. The issue in this case is when an…
Bankruptcy Law Insights
Does a Single “Or” Excommunicate Congressional Intent From the Bankruptcy Code? Supreme Court to Resolve Circuit Split on Credit Bidding
By Ben Feder
The U.S. Supreme Court will rule this term in RadLAX Gateway Hotel Inc. v. Amalgamated Bank on whether the Bankruptcy Code permits a debtor in a chapter 11 case to…