proviso
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 84 U.S. 168 - United States v. Cook · 1872Most cited · 539 citing opinions
the office of a proviso is either to except something from the enacting clause or to qualify or restrain its generality, or to exclude some ground of misinterpretation of it, as extending to cases not intended to be brought within its operation
How the Supreme Court has restated “proviso”
Each Supreme Court definition of “proviso,” 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 “proviso”
Court decisions citing the 7 opinions that defined “proviso” — 1,468 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 7 definitions, chronological · 1841–1932
- ORIGINAL
a proviso carves special exceptions only out of the enacting clause; and those who set up any such exception, must establish it as being within the words as well as within the reasons thereof.
it is the true office of a proviso to restrict the sense or make clear that which has gone before and which might be doubtful because of the generality of the language used.
When a proviso like this carves an exception out of the body of a statute or contract, those who set up such exception must prove it.
burden of proof
The general office of a proviso is to except something from the enacting clause, or to qualify and restrain its generality and prevent misinterpretation. Its grammatical and logical scope is confined to the subject-matter of the principal clause. And although sometimes used to introduce independent legislation, the presumption is that, in accordance with its primary purpose, it refers only to the provision to which it is attached.
As a general rule, a proviso is intended to take a special case or class of cases out of the operation of the body of the section in which it is found. But a proviso is not always limited in its effect to the part of the enactment with which it is immediately associated; it may apply generally to all cases within the meaning of the language used.
the concluding clause of the section, though denominated a proviso, is an excepting clause, and therefore to be narrowly construed
as excepting clause