What Statutes Mean: Interpretive Lessons from Positive Theories of Communication and Legislation

How should judges interpret statutes? For some scholars and judges, interpreting statutes requires little more than a close examination of statutory language, with perhaps a dictionary and a few interpretive canons nearby. For others, statutory interpretation must be based upon an assessment of a statute's underlying purpose, an evaluation of society's current norms and values, or a normative objective, such as the "law's integrity." With such differences squarely framed in the literature, it is reasonable to ask whether anything of value can be added. We contend that there is.