Statutory Construction Blog

Fifth Circuit Splits En Banc on Plain Meaning

I'm on the road and have found that I can't understand cases fully unless I print them out and read them, but this U.S. v. Cuellar case looks worth reading.

Washington Supreme Court Splits on General-Specific Rule

This opinion's an interesting one.  Majority in State v. Conte ___ P.3d ___ (Wash. March 15, 2007), held that criminal prosecution was not precluded even though a specific statute applied to the conduct and applied only civil penalties; dissent reached the opposite conclusion.

Stalking Statute Applies to Bully

The Nebraska Supreme Court in State v. Jeffrey K., held that its anti-stalking statute applied to a high school bully.