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The Judicial Instinct To Harmonize Statutes, Steve R. Johnson
The Judicial Instinct To Harmonize Statutes, Steve R. Johnson
Scholarly Publications
Judges like to reach results that harmonize statutory meanings, both meanings within given statutes and meanings among statutes. That inclination applies as fully in tax cases as in nontax cases, and in state and local tax cases as well as in federal tax cases. Effective advocates in state-local tax controversies recognize that judicial tropism and use it, whenever possible, in their clients’ interests.
Part I discusses the harmonization instinct generally. Part II illustrates application of the harmonization approach in state and local cases. Part III notes some limitations on and unsettled questions regarding the harmonization.
When General Statutes And Specific Statutes Conflict, Steve R. Johnson
When General Statutes And Specific Statutes Conflict, Steve R. Johnson
Scholarly Publications
It’s no secret that the pace of lawmaking in the United States has accelerated dramatically in recent decades. So much so that one may be forgiven for thinking that the best law reform would be a moratorium on further law reform – - to give citizens, their legal representatives, and government officials the opportunity to catch up with the laws we already have made.
Legislatures, agencies, and courts all have made their contributions to the torrent of lawmaking. The phenomenon has been attributed to various causes, including growing populations, greater population densities as a result of urbanization, rapid technological changes, …