Half a Century of Supreme Court Clean Air Act Interpretation: Purposivism, Textualism, Dynamism, and Activism

44 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2018

See all articles by David M. Driesen

David M. Driesen

Syracuse University College of Law

Thomas M. Keck

Syracuse University - Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Brandon Metroka

University of the Incarnate Word

Date Written: May 29, 2018

Abstract

While public and scholarly concern about ideological decision making in Supreme Court cases has traditionally focused on abortion rights and other constitutional issues, the Gorsuch nomination brought forth some concern that ideology might influence statutory construction as well. This paper offers a case study in the evolution of statutory interpretation over time in the Supreme Court by examining the Court’s Clean Air Act jurisprudence, which now reaches back almost half a century. It examines the influence of both politics and evolving norms of statutory interpretation on the Supreme Court’s Clean Air Act case law.

Keywords: statutory interpretation, clean air act, dynamic statutory interpretation, textualism, purosivism, judicial ideology, attitudinal model, ideological decisionmaking, law and economics

JEL Classification: K32

Suggested Citation

Driesen, David M. and Keck, Thomas M. and Metroka, Brandon, Half a Century of Supreme Court Clean Air Act Interpretation: Purposivism, Textualism, Dynamism, and Activism (May 29, 2018). Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 75, No. 4, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3186871

David M. Driesen (Contact Author)

Syracuse University College of Law ( email )

Dineen Hall
950 Irving Ave.
Syracuse, NY, NY 13244
United States
315-443-4218 (Phone)
315-443-4141 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.syr.edu/faculty/facultymember.asp?fac=12

Thomas M. Keck

Syracuse University - Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs ( email )

Syracuse, NY 13244
United States

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/tmkeck/

Brandon Metroka

University of the Incarnate Word ( email )

4301 Broadway
AD 378
San Antonio, TX 78209
United States

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