I. Introduction For centuries, the foundation of the Anglo-American trial has been the witness.[1] Witnesses report on their personal observations, provide opinions of character, offer scientific explanations, and in the case of parties, narrate their own story.[2] Indeed, even for documentary and other physical evidence, witnesses often provide the conduit through which such evidence reaches […] Continue Reading >
Statutory Interpretation, Administrative Deference, and the Law of Stare Decisis
Statutory Interpretation, Administrative Deference, and the Law of Stare Decisis
Introduction Statutory interpretation isn’t always a clean slate. Courts are commonly asked to revisit or revise statutory provisions they previously encountered. Those requests implicate the doctrine of stare decisis. Applying principles of horizontal stare decisis to the domain of statutes raises a number of complicated questions for judges. One is how to treat prior judicial […] Continue Reading >
I. Introduction A society’s laws may be meant to “insure domestic Tranquility,” or to “promote the general Welfare.”[1] American military law, meanwhile, is meant “to promote justice, to assist in maintaining good order and discipline in the armed forces, to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the military establishment, and thereby to strengthen the national security […] Continue Reading >
Statutory Interpretation, Administrative Deference, and the Law of Stare Decisis