Statutory Interpretation in the 2020s: A View of the Cathedral

Abstract

This Comment looks at 87 statutory interpretation cases in the Supreme Court’s docket over the last three terms to evaluate trends in how the nation’s highest court reads statutes in the modern era. It concludes that the overarching story is neither a purely “textualist” one, nor one in which the liberal bloc is very often at odds with the conservative bloc. Instead, statutory interpretation is much more consensual than it is often credited to be—and contextual and purposive arguments continue to remain valid modalities of interpretation, even as standard textualist tools also remain relevant.

Keywords: statutory interpretation, textualism, Supreme Court