About the Book
In an ideal world, the laws of Congress--known as federal statutes--would always be clearly worded and easily understood by the judges tasked with interpreting them. But many laws feature ambiguous or even contradictory wording. How, then, should judges divine their meaning? Should they stick only to the text? To what degree, if any, should they consult aids beyond the statutes themselves? Are the purposes of lawmakers in writing law relevant? Some judges, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, believe courts should look to the language of the statute and virtually nothing else. Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit respectfully disagrees. In Judging Statutes, Katzmann, who is a trained political scientist as well as a judge, argues that our constitutional system charges Congress with enacting laws; therefore, how Congress makes its purposes known through both the laws themselves and reliable accompanying materials should be respected. He looks at how the American government works, including how laws come to be and how various agencies construe legislation. He then explains the judicial process of interpreting and applying these laws through the demonstration of two interpretative approaches, purposivism (focusing on the purpose of a law) and textualism (focusing solely on the text of the written law). Katzmann draws from his experience to show how this process plays out in the real world, and concludes with some suggestions to promote understanding between the courts and Congress.
When courts interpret the laws of Congress, they should be mindful of how Congress actually functions, how lawmakers signal the meaning of statutes, and what those legislators expect of courts construing their laws. The legislative record behind a law is in truth part of its foundation, and therefore merits consideration.
About the Author :
Robert A. Katzmann is Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The only jurist in the federal courts with a Ph.D in political science, throughout his career he has been concerned about how to make government function more effectively. At the time of his appointment to the federal bench, he was the Walsh Professor of Government, Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University; a fellow of the Brookings Institution; and president of the Governance Institute. Numerous awards for his public service, as well as his legal writing, have been bestowed on Judge Katzmann since joining the bench.
Review :
"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)
