Over the last twenty-five years, there has been a spirited debate in the courts, Congress, and in the academy about how to interpret federal statutes, the laws of Congress. Federal judges spend a considerable amount of time trying to understand Congress''s meaning. Just as Congress produces laws, so courts are called on to interpret them. When the language of the statute is unambiguous, then, the job of the judge is generally straightforward. But when-as often happens-the statute is ambiguous, the interpretative task is not obvious. How a judge interprets statutes - sticking only to the text when the language is ambiguous, or going beyond the text to legislative materials - is of fundamental importance. For the methodology of interpretation can affect the outcome and thus whether the law has been construed consistently with Congress''s meaning.Justice Scalia has fueled the debate, arguing that courts should look to the text of the statute and to virtually nothing else. In Judging Statutes, Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, respectfully disagrees. Drawing upon his interdisciplinary background in law and political science, he argues that our constitutional system charges Congress with enacting laws; so, how Congress makes its purposes known, through text and reliable accompanying materials should be respected. Judge Katzmann contends that there has been scant consideration given to what is critical as courts interpret statutes - an appreciation of how Congress actually functions and signals its meaning, and what Congress expects of those interpreting its laws. Judging Statutes explores how Congress works; how agencies construe legislation; and examines two interpretative approaches, purposivsm and textualism. The author discusses cases in which he was the writing judge and which the Supreme Court reviewed, and concludes with some suggestions to promote understanding between courts and Congress.
Industry Reviews
"read this book, read this book" -Harvard Law Review
"Robert Katzmann has written an illuminating and convincing book about the importance of ascertaining the actual intent of the legislators who draft and enact our statutes. It should be required reading for all lawyers confronting questions of statutory construction when advising clients or arguing such issues before judges."
-Justice John Paul Stevens (Ret.)
"Judge Katzmann is a dedicated public servant and a highly regarded judge. This compelling book is a welcome addition to the increasingly urgent conversation about how courts interpret what we do as members of Congress."
-Senator Charles E. Schumer
"Beautifully crafted, sensitive to the contrasting workways of Congress, executive agencies, and courts, and wise in its conclusions on this contested arena of judging, this book will quickly become the essential primer for judges, legislators, and citizens who aspire to more effective government. Katzmann, the first and only political scientist appointed to the federal bench, draws on his extraordinary knowledge and experience as a judge, scholar, law
professor and interlocutor between the branches to produce this splendid brief treatise on statutory interpretation."
-Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair & Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
"The most erudite book any American judge has ever published on statutory interpretation, combining common sense with masterful scholarship. Katzmann relentlessly insists that judges approach statutes with an appreciation of Congress's primacy and with an understanding of the utility of legislative history. He does for statutory interpretation what John Marshall did for constitutional interpretation."
-William Eskridge, Jr., John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence, Yale Law School
"Judging Statutes will profoundly influence the study and practice of statutory interpretation, combining sophisticated theoretical analysis with real-world experience. This book demonstrates the importance of an institutional perspective; interpretation includes Congress, courts, and agencies, as each engages with the statute and other branches."
-Elizabeth Garrett, President, Cornell University
"A judicial craftsman at the top of his art, Katzmann has written a must-read for all involved in the legislative and interpretive process."
-Viet Dinh, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
"Katzmann makes a powerful case that judges should pay attention to legislative history--the words of members of Congress in debates, the committee reports explaining laws, and all of the source material that reflects how Congress really works. Moreover, Katzmann makes the apt point that textualism is especially inappropriate for judges who, like Scalia, profess to believe in judicial restraint-in the idea, that is, that judges should defer to the elected
branches of government." --Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker
"Judging Statutes, is both a tour de force and must reading for anybody following a particularly critical case, Halbig v. Burwell." --Norm Ornstein, The Atlantic
"Judging Statutes leaves the reader with a better understanding of lawmaking, legal interpretation, and the roles of the various actors in this ongoing drama that affects all our lives." -Paul Vamvas, The Federal Lawyer
"[Katzmann] can legitimately lay claim to greater knowledge and savvy than perhaps any sitting judge about how Congress actually writes laws and how the judicial branch reads and misreads them . . . Katzmann's crisply argued volume, Judging Statutes, has already attracted serious attention on the left and right." -Simon Lazarus, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas
"Judge Katzmann's approach to statutory interpretation seems so plausible and balanced that it is hard to believe that anyone ever believed anything else." -Edward L. Rubin, Vanderbilt Law Review
"Excellent and concise . . . Katzmann combines his judicial experience with his academic prowess to craft a gracious and erudite contribution to the national conversation about statutory interpretation . . . His admirable book is the essential new starting point for those interested in this old field." -Judge John Wiley, Los Angeles Daily Journal
"Required reading for all who teach in the field. . . [C]ould set the framework for. . . legislation class or. . . as an independent reading assignment [for entering law students]." -Peter Strauss, Journal of Legal Education
"Every judge, lawyer, law professor, and law student who interprets statutes - which is to say every judge, lawyer, law professor, and law student - should read this book carefully. To paraphrase Justice Frankfurter: read the book, read the book, read the book." -Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Harvard Law Review
"A great book-called simply, Judging Statutes... What makes this particular book about statutory interpretation so engaging is the breadth of perspective that Judge Katzmann brings to it." -John F. Manning, Tulsa Law Review
"Second Circuit Judge Robert A. Katzmann bring his unique professional career, including his distinguished experience and expertise in legislature, in academia, and as a jurist to his masterful book, Judging Statutes. With concise but lucid style, Judge Katzmann gives a thorough exposition of the analytical struggles a judge must go through while interpreting a less-than-clear statute." -Judge Michael M. Baylson, Judicature, Volume 100, No. 1.
74 (Spring 2016)
