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statute

Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court

Definitions from Case Law

From 517 U.S. 735 - Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), N. A. · 1996Most cited · 1,091 citing opinions

-or perhaps even (what "Chevron" also excludes from deference) "manifestly contrary to the statute," we will discuss in the next Part of this opinion.

How the Supreme Court has restated “statute”

1946195019601970198019901996 most cited: 517 U.S. 735 - Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), N. A. (1996)
first stateddeparted

Each Supreme Court definition of “statute,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.

How often courts cite the cases defining “statute”

194019601980200020202030734

Court decisions citing the 4 opinions that defined “statute” — 2,677 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.

All 4 definitions, chronological · 1946–1996

  1. the word 'statute' in §266 is a compendious summary of various enactments, by whatever method they may be adopted, to which a State gives her sanction and is at least sufficiently inclusive to embrace constitutional provisions.

    § 266 Judicial Code

  2. neither the statute nor the regulations are complete without the other, and only together do they have any force. In effect, therefore, the construction of one necessarily involves the construction of the other. When the statute and regulations are so inextricably intertwined, the dismissal must be held to involve the construction of the statute.

    Criminal Appeals Act

  3. 1967·387 U.S. 97 - Moody v. Flowers[p7]· cited 729×

    The Court has consistently construed the section as authorizing a three-judge court not merely because a state statute is involved but only when a state statute of general and statewide application is sought to be enjoined. The term 'statute' in § 2281 does not encompass local ordinances or resolutions.

    § 2281