Wait, Now I Actually Have to Read This?!
Often lawyers hope legislative histories will provide neat statement of how Congress meant for the law to apply on their issue.
However, most legislative histories are long, messy compilations of months or years of amendment and debate by people with conflicting interests.
This means:
- Different legislators and interest groups may have said different things about your issue.
- Congress may never have thought about your issue at all.
- Even if Congress did make a neat statement on your issue, you may need to dig through thousands of pages of material to find it.
Finding your legislative history is only the beginning.
Online Guides to Interpreting Legislative History
- LLSDC Legislative Source BookExtensive directory of legislative history resources from the Law Librarians' Society of Washington DC. Includes a practical guide to finding and interpreting legislative history, description of common types of documents, and FAQ.
Treatises on Interpreting Legislative History
- Sutherland on Statutes and Statutory ConstructionCall Number: Main stacks KF425 .S25 2007
Using Legislative History in American Statutory Interpretation by Call Number: Main Stacks KF425 .M36 2002Publication Date: 2002-06-27
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation by Call Number: Main stacks KF425 .E835 20Publication Date: 2007-01-18
An Introduction to Statutory Interpretation and the Legislative Process by Call Number: Main stacks KF425 .M55 1997Publication Date: 1997-08-27
An Introduction to Legal Reasoning by Call Number: Main stacks KF380 .L484 2013Publication Date: 2013-09-19
Statutory Default Rules: How to Interpret Unclear Legislation by Call Number: Main stacks KF425 .E44 2008Publication Date: 2008-02-22
The Theory and Practice of Statutory Interpretation by Call Number: Main stacks KF425 .C76 2009Publication Date: 2008-11-19
