Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2017
Journal Title
Ohio State Business Law Journal
ISSN
1932-4480
Abstract
The act of judging is complex involving finding facts, interpreting law, and then deciding a particular dispute. But these are not discreet functions: they bleed into one another and are thus interdependent. This article aims to reveal-at least in part-how judges approach this process. To do so, I look at three sets of civil RICO cases that align and diverge from civil antitrust precedents. I then posit that the judges in these cases base their decisions on assumptions about RICO's purpose. These assumptions, though often tacit and therefore not subject to direct observation, are nonetheless sometimes revealed when a judge narrates legislative history. I conclude by remarking that a narrative theory of interpretation and justification may have universal relevance.
First Page
1
Last Page
60
Num Pages
60
Volume Number
12
Issue Number
1
Publisher
Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Recommended Citation
Randy D. Gordon,
Making Meaning: Towards a Narrative Theory of Statutory Interpretation and Judicial Justification,
12
Ohio St. Bus. L.J.
1
(2017).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/1289