legal interpretation
Reading the law
Legal interpretation is the process of determining what laws, statutes, or constitutional provisions mean when applied to specific situations.
Courts engage in legal interpretation when statutory language is ambiguous or when applying old texts to new circumstances: The court's interpretation of the commerce clause has evolved over decades.
Different schools of interpretation emphasize original intent, plain meaning, or evolving standards.
- case lawJudge-made legal doctrine
- constitutionsGoverning legal frameworks
- statutesFormally enacted laws
- judicial precedentPrior ruling guiding courts
- original intentAuthors' understood purpose
jurisprudence · clear and convincing · judicial review · literalism · letter of the law · spirit of the law · treaties · ordinances · historical context · clause · gavel · meaning · ruling · parsing · legislative intent · bench · intent · reading
legal interpretationgut feeling
Instinctive sense about something
whim · caprice · intuition · emotional response · moral intuition
legal interpretationtextualism
Interpreting law literally
originalism · literal reading · judicial activism · plain meaning
legal interpretationlawlessness
Absence of governing rules
legal fiction · misreading · misinterpretation · vigilante justice · mob rule