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3 - Interpretation and Pragmatics – Legal Ambiguity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2020

Douglas Walton ,
Fabrizio Macagno  and
Giovanni Sartor
Douglas Walton
Affiliation:
University of Windsor, Ontario
Fabrizio Macagno
Affiliation:
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Giovanni Sartor
Affiliation:
Università di Bologna
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Summary

This definition is only apparently clear and simple. In fact, in order to understand what it means exactly, it is necessary to analyze first the concept of [§1.1] interpretation and then the related concepts of [§1.2] ambiguity, [§1.3] ordinary meaning, and [§1.4] vagueness.

Type
Chapter
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Statutory Interpretation
Pragmatics and Argumentation
 , pp. 97 - 156
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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Cases cited

Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States 1892 143 U.S. 457.

Department of Housing & Urban Development v. Rucker 2002 535 U.S. 125.

District of Columbia v. Heller 2008 554 U.S. 570.

Moskal v. United States 1990 No. 498 U.S. 103.

Muscarello v. United States 1998 no. 524 U.S. 125.

Smith v. United States 1993 508 U.S. 223.

United States v. Missouri Pacific R.R. Co. 1929. 278 U.S. 269.

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