POLI 104J Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Legislative Intent, Misdemeanor, Golden Rule
4 Jun 2020
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Hierarchy of laws: interlocking set of rules. Federal statutes (issues congress/courts decide are national interest: pollution, laws governing banks/stocks, labor law) State statutes (issues of local interests: property, contract, torts, education) It is useful if a record exists of debate and reports to learn of legislative intent of statutes. In an ideal world, legislative intent would be known. In the real world, legislative intent is fiction. Every word and punctuation ina statue/constitution/regulation carries the impact for the rule of law: Goal is to understand legislative intent: is it to address specific citizen concerns, special interest group, public commission recommendation, legislator"s initiative, referendum, etc. Useful if a record exists of debate and reports to learn of legislative intent of statutes. Recall prospective and retrospective aspects of law. In reality: some legislators probably meant one idea, others intended another, Legislature did however write in precise language: each word, phrase, and others did not think about it punctuation commands respect.
