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Intrinsic Sources - Coggle Diagram
Intrinsic Sources
Grammar and Punctuation
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Singular and plural
A legislature's use of the singular is presumed to include the plural, and the legislature's use of the plural is presumed to include the singular
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Words with Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter Meaning
Until the 1980s or so, statutes were generally written using the masculine pronoun was used as a "generic" pronoun reference
Serial Comma Rule
A writer should separate each item in a series of items with a comma to make clear that each item is separate from the others
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Linguistic Canons
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Noscitur a sociis
When a word in a list has more than one meaning, the appropriate meaning should be determined from the textual context
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In pari materia
Whole act aspect
Presumes that although the sections of an act are not codified together, the act's sections should be interpreted harmoniously
Related code aspect
Statutes should be interpreted harmoniously with all related, existing statutes
Identify the statutory material that judges may legitimately look at to discern meaning or fill gaps
Ejusdem generis
Used to interpret a general catch-all phrase and adds by implication the phrase "everything else of the same type as those in the list"
Primarly used when the statute ends with a general term, or a catch-all phrase, such as "and others"
Textual Components
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Definitions Section
Not every statute includes a definitions section, but there is such a section, then that statutory definition controls
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