Interpretive Strategies and the Doctrine of Precedent

FAIN: FT-13661-78

Kenneth S. Abraham
University of Maryland, Baltimore (Baltimore, MD 21201-1603)

Project will focus on two common legal problems: l) the relation between the- "intention" of legislatures enacting statutes and the interpretive authority of courts applying them; and (2) the doctrine that precedents are binding—that like cases must be decided alike. By comparing similarities and differences between legal and literary theories of interpretation, study should also produce insights into the common character and central role of interpretive strategies in both disciplines. Both parts--statutory interpretation and the study of precedents--will be combined in an integrated volume on problems of interpretation.