Play video

Differing Theories of Statutory Interpretation

Learn about different theories of, and approaches to, statutory interpretation.

Transcript

I. Introduction

When Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the Supreme Court in 2022, she became the one hundred and sixteenth justice in the history of that court. And all the justices have had different ideas about statutory and constitutional interpretation. Most of those ideas and philosophies fall into one of a few broad schools of thought about textual interpretation. And over the course of a career, a judge or justice may embrace more than one particular school. Different cases sometimes call...

Lessons

    • 1. Welcome
    • Welcome
    2. Federal Systems of Legislation & Regulation
    • The Federal Constitutional System of Legislation and Regulation
    • Overview of Sources of Federal Law
    • The Constitution and Legislative Power
    3. Federal Legislative Processes
    • How a Bill Becomes a Law
    • Delegation of Congressional Lawmaking Power to Agencies I
    • Delegation of Congressional Lawmaking and Judicial Power to Agencies II
    4. Statutory Interpretation
    • Philosophical Views of the Judiciary’s Role and Common Interpretive Problems
    • Differing Theories of Statutory Interpretation
    • Legislative History and its Use in Interpreting Statutes
    • Canons of Statutory Interpretation I
    • Canons of Statutory Interpretation II
    • Canons of Statutory Interpretation III
    • Canons of Statutory Interpretation IV
    5. Agency Action, State Processes, & Courts
    • The History and Evolution of the Administrative State
    • Federal Regulatory Processes
    • Executive Branch Control of Agencies and Judicial Review of Agency Action
    • Judicial Review of Agency Action Under the APA
    • State Legislative & Administrative Processes
    • Judicial Process