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- Corpus linguistics; statutory interpretation; contract interpretation; surveys; ordinary meaning; plain meaning (1)
- Interpretation; linguistics; philosophy of language; statutory interpretation; corpus linguistics; Language and Law; Experimental Jurisprudence; Statutory Interpretation; Legal Interpretation; Empirical Jurisprudence (1)
- Legislative Drafting; Statutory Interpretation; Legal Corpus Linguistics; Textualism; Purposivism; Linguistics; Corpus Linguistics; Legal Corpus Linguistics (1)
- Notice-and-comment; Administrative Procedure Act; rule-making; § 553; § 553 exemptions; federal agencies (1)
- Statutory interpretation (1)
Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Jurisprudence
A Call To Replace The Apa’S Notice-And-Comment Exemption For Guidance Documents, Crystal M. Cummings
A Call To Replace The Apa’S Notice-And-Comment Exemption For Guidance Documents, Crystal M. Cummings
Brooklyn Law Review
Section 553 of the APA requires public “notice-and-comment” before a federal agency issues substantive rules and exempts from these procedures guidance documents that merely offer nonbinding insight and assistance on existing law. The problem of federal agencies using the notice-and-comment exemption to issue legislative rules that are legally binding has garnered considerable attention. Congressional efforts to amend the APA in response have failed and, in turn, variations have been offered on a seemingly simple fix—mandate or encourage agencies to solicit public input before issuing guidance documents. This note characterizes these proposals as overlays on the § 553(b)(A) exemption. The note …
Mechanical Turk Jurisprudence, Shlomo Klapper
Mechanical Turk Jurisprudence, Shlomo Klapper
Brooklyn Law Review
This paper argues that data-driven interpretation creates a “Mechanical Turk” jurisprudence: a jurisprudence that appears mechanical but in fact is thoroughly human. Its contribution to the literature is twofold. First, it articulates an intellectual history of data-driven interpretation: data-driven tools have been adopted because society associates quantification with a mechanical objectivity and because objectivity is at the center of debates over statutory interpretation. Second, it criticizes surveys as an interpretative tool: in addition to a host of practical execution problems, surveys misunderstand the concept of “ordinary meaning” and threaten to undermine the value of faithful agency.
Big Data And Accuracy In Statutory Interpretation, Brian G. Slocum
Big Data And Accuracy In Statutory Interpretation, Brian G. Slocum
Brooklyn Law Review
Scholarship is increasingly devoted to improving the “accuracy” of statutory interpretations, but accuracy is a contingent concept dependent on interpretive perspective. If, for instance, a scholar focuses on the language production of the legislature, she may seek to improve the methodology of statutory interpretation through a more sophisticated understanding of the legislative process. Thus, the scholar may argue that one can assess the reliability of the different types of legislative history by focusing on the actors and processes that produce them. Conversely, a scholar might focus on the language comprehension of some speech community, such as the one comprised of …
Natural Language And Legal Interpretation, Stephen C. Mouritsen
Natural Language And Legal Interpretation, Stephen C. Mouritsen
Brooklyn Law Review
Judges and lawyers often appeal to the “ordinary meaning” of the words in legal texts. Until very recently, claims about the ordinary meaning of words in legal texts have not been informed by evidence of the way that words are used or understood by ordinary people. This is because no such evidence—and no method to gather such evidence—was available. Instead, judges, parties, and scholars have been left to rely on their own linguistic intuitions and dictionaries, both of which are problematic guides to the usage or understanding of ordinary people. This symposium on Data Driven Interpretation focuses on recent developments …
Two Types Of Empirical Textualism, Kevin Tobia, John Mikhail
Two Types Of Empirical Textualism, Kevin Tobia, John Mikhail
Brooklyn Law Review
Modern textualist and originalist theories increasingly center interpretation around the “ordinary” or “public” meaning of legal texts. This approach is premised on the promotion of values like publicity, fair notice, and democratic legitimacy. As such, ordinary meaning is typically understood as a question about how members of the general public understand the text—an empirical question with an objective answer. This essay explores the role of empirical methods, particularly experimental survey methods, in these ordinary meaning inquiries. The essay expresses optimism about new insight that empirical methods can bring, but it also cautions against the view that these methods will deliver …
Adding Context And Constraint To Corpus Linguistics, Jeffrey W. Stempel
Adding Context And Constraint To Corpus Linguistics, Jeffrey W. Stempel
Brooklyn Law Review
Corpus linguistics presents an exciting tool for improving interpretation of documentary language. But it would be a mistake to overvalue the tool or to use it as grounds for ejecting consideration of other data from the interpretative task. While properly operationalized corpus linguistics analysis represents an advancement over traditional textualism, it remains subject to the same problems that plague excessively rigid textualism that refuses to give consideration to contextual evidence of meaning. To be most effective in achieving accurate and just interpretative results, corpus linguistics, like traditional reading of documentary language, requires context. This includes not only the context of …