strict construction
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 333 U.S. 18 - United States v. Brown · 1948Most cited · 748 citing opinions
The canon in favor of strict construction is not an inexorable command to override common sense and evident statutory purpose. It does not require magnified emphasis upon a single ambiguous word in order to give it a meaning contradictory to the fair import of the whole remaining language... it is satisfied if the words are given their fair meaning in accord with the manifest intent of the lawmakers.
How the Supreme Court has restated “strict construction”
Each Supreme Court definition of “strict construction,” 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 “strict construction”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “strict construction” — 1,052 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 3 definitions, chronological · 1823–1950
- ORIGINAL
That they must be construed strictly, follows from their affecting private rights, and particularly rights of freehold; and that they must be pursued strictly, is the consequence of their being the sole foundation of the powers executed under them.
statutes affecting private rights
no offense may be created except by the words of Congress used in their usual and ordinary sense. There are no constructive offenses.