This is the 2020 paperback printing of the casebook originally published in 2016. This casebook is designed for a class on legislation, statutory interpretation, and regulation. It uses a combination of highly edited cases and problems to help students explore the practice of these three areas of law, with a strong emphasis on statutory interpretation. The book begins by introducing the legislative process, moves to explore in detail statutory interpretation, and ends with an introduction to the administrative state. After reading this text, students should understand how statutes are enacted and interpreted, the role that agencies play both in regulating and in interpreting statutes, and the breadth of arguments that are available to lawyers that master this topic.

This casebook is designed for a class on legislation, statutory interpretation, and regulation. It uses a combination of highly edited cases and problems to help students explore the practice of these three areas of law, with a strong emphasis on statutory interpretation. The book begins by introducing the legislative process, moves to explore in detail statutory interpretation, and ends with an introduction to the administrative state. After reading this text, students should understand how statutes are enacted and interpreted, the role that agencies play both in regulating and in interpreting statutes, and the breadth of arguments that are available to lawyers that master this topic.

The Regulatory State, Third Edition is distinguished by a practical focus on how federal administrative agencies make decisions, how political institutions influence decisions, and how courts review those decisions. With coverage tailored to 1L or upper-level courses on the regulatory state or legislation and regulation, Bressman, Rubin, and Stack use primary source materials drawn from agency rules, adjudicatory orders, and guidance documents to show how lawyers engage agencies. Additionally, this book uses an accessible central example (auto safety) throughout to make the materials cohesive and accessible, and presents legislation with attention to modern developments in the legislative process. The Regulatory State, Third Edition also presents statutory interpretation in useful terms, highlighting the “tools” that courts employ as well as the theories that judges and scholars have offered. New to the Third Edition: Expanded discussion of agency methods of statutory implementation and regulatory interpretation Additional primary source materials Up-to-date examination of political and judicial control of agency action New chapter with a case study of the regulatory process using the main example from the book Professors and students will benefit from: Tools-based approach that highlights the methods of analysis that agencies, courts, and lawyers utilize Use of an accessible central example as a familiar entry point into a complex legal area Primary source materials—agency documents, including notice-and-comment rules, adjudicatory orders, agency guidance, and more Empirical data, normative or theoretical questions, and practical examples

Based on the premise that the study of legislation requires more than simply an inquiry into the courts' efforts at legislative interpretation, this casebook employs a variety of approaches to convey the legislature's role in shaping the law, including political science materials, case studies, and appellate cases. Statutory interpretation is the central element of a course on Legislation and each chapter incorporates the basics of interpretation to clarify how each topic fits in with the course as a whole. The authors first introduce students to legislation as the primary vehicle for making the law, before discussing the interaction of legislation and common law. They then address the structure of operation of the legislature as an institution of government to provide a foundation for approaches to interpretation stressing legislative purpose and legislative history. Discussion of the variety of legislative process restrictions applicable to legislative lawmaking introduces students to the anatomy of a statute and the formal and procedural constraints imposed by federal and state constitutions on the lawmaking process. With regard to statutory interpretation, a new way of organizing text- based arguments beyond plain-meaning interpretation precedes intent-based approaches to interpretation, in turn followed by canon-based arguments demonstrating the weaknesses inherent in their use. Legislative Law and Statutory Interpretation then covers five broad areas generally organized to reflect questions of institutional (judicial or legislative) competence, including materials on clear statement requirements, retroactivity, severability, deference to administrative agency decisionmaking, and overruling of statutory precedents, and interpretation of state statutes by federal courts and vice versa. This book also is available in a heavily discounted, three-hole punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8 x 11 inch paper with wider mar