Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 1st Edition

by Antonin Scalia (Author), Bryan A. Garner (Author), Frank H. Easterbrook (Foreword)

300 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0314275554

ISBN-10: 031427555X

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In this groundbreaking book, Scalia and Garner systematically explain all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation in an engaging and informative style - with hundreds of illustrations from actual cases. Is a burrito a sandwich? Is a corporation entitled to personal privacy? If you trade a gun for drugs, are you "using a gun" in a drug transaction? The authors grapple with these and dozens of equally curious questions while explaining the most principled,lucid, and reliable techniques for deriving meaning from authoritative texts. Meanwhile, the book takes up some of the most controversial issues in modern jurisprudence. The authors write with a well-argued point of view that is definitive yet nuanced, straightforward yet sophisticated. - Publisher.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ West Group; 1st edition (June 19, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 567 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 031427555X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0314275554
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #30,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Trial Practice (Books)
- #11 in Jurisprudence (Books)
- #124 in Law (Books)

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300 ratings

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Elements of Watson

Excellent. Esoteric. Valuable.

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019

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Exactly what I expected from Scalia and Garner...well written, precise, and presented in a way that allows for immediate application into an attorney's legal writing. Each of the textualist 'rules' provides several examples and at least one anecdote that helps solidify the principle offered. For anyone who needs to understand, apply, and argue the meaning of the law, this book is a no-brainer.

Regardless of whether you agreed with Scalia's jurisprudence, this book is a valuable resource. Interpreting the law is the perfect title for this book...and...if the title doesn't get you excited, I can't imagine what lies between the front and back cover will either. Perhaps someone with an incredible passion for the law might find the subject matter fascinating, but for the most part, this is more of an instruction manual than an academically oriented read. I am a new attorney and refer to this text at least three or four times each week.

I don't remember what I paid for this--but I would pay triple knowing what I know now.

Scalia left an indelible mark on the Court, the legal community, and by virtue of his position as a justice, the course of the United States. I suspect there will be several books written about the man Scalia was--this is not one of them. Rather, this is a gift to those who practice that will be relevant for generations.

20 people found this helpful

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Athul Acharya

Kindle edition does not include book page numbers

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2020

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Agree or disagree with Scalia's politics and jurisprudence, this book is an incredible resource for both practitioner and scholar. Other commentators have made the point well. I write this review to add just one note of caution:

*** The Kindle edition omits page numbers from the print edition. ***

This makes the Kindle edition much less useful if you actually want to cite it in a brief! This flaw is not intrinsic to Kindle books; I own plenty of Kindle texts that have both Kindle "locations" and real page numbers. But for whatever reason, the decision was made to omit them in _this_ Kindle text. I do not know why. But if you pplan to cite the book, rather than just read it on your nightstand, I recommend you buy the print edition.

6 people found this helpful

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Joshua K.

The reference text for textualists

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2020

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This is my second copy because I wore the first one out. Not great for reading right through (although I did that with my first copy, too) but it's an amazing desk reference. Need a canon - find it here. Someone cites a canon and you're not sure they have it right - this book describes just not the applications of each canon, but the common misapplications. If someone misuses one, it's likely there's a direct quote in here on why they're wrong. With so many textualists and originalists coming onto the federal bench, the ability to speak to them in your writing is needed now more than ever for appellate and even trial litigators.

4 people found this helpful

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PRD

Great book to understand judicial interpretation.

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021

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I do not have a legal background. Through this book I learned about the subtleties and complexities of judicial interpretation. The book covers situations judges confront that I had never considered. The book makes a strong case textual interpretation based on original intent. While this is typically a conservative view, the book points out the benefits to this approach no matter where one is on the political spectrum. This approach protects against judicial revision by either liberal or conservative judges. This approach forces legislatures and Congress to take responsibility to tackle tough issues rather than shifting responsibility to the courts. This approach depolitisizes the courts, strengthens respect for the rule of law, simplifies judicial interpretation and improves the predictability of judicial rulings. Th approach is neither liberal or conservative.

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Bellevue Dave

Decent gift for a law school grad

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2016

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I'm not an attorney, but when my daughter in law recently graduated from law school, I thought this might be an appropriate gift. I work with a number of young lawyers and asked for their opinions. Apparently Justice Scalia is either greatly admired or looked down upon by lawyers. There are very few in the "middle." But whether they were pro or con, those who read the book commented that they learned something from it and thought it would be a good gift. Happily, she passed the bar exam, joined a good law firm, and will be sworn in next week.

18 people found this helpful

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Shihan

Excellent Legal Writing and Interpretation Resource

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2017

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An outstanding resource for any lawyer or legal professional. This book has the potential to skyrocket your legal writing skills while at the same time teach you how to understand where judges come from when interpreting the law. If you are in the business of convincing someone in the legal field this is the one to have. Along the way, it may even help you finally understand why your written arguments did not achieve your expected results. Great resource!

16 people found this helpful

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Ignacio

It really answers questions

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2017

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This is by far the best contribution of Justice Antonin Scalia. This book has answers to questions about interpretation. If you don't know how to read a text, because there may be more than one possible logical meaning, this book will provide the answer. Nobody teaches you this at law school.

14 people found this helpful

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Joanne M

Reading Law - Interpreting Legal Text: Exceptionally good guide.

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016

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Scalia and Garner offer concise, articulate, reasoned discussions on reading and interpreting law. Very practical examples help drive home the theories. The writing style is very accessible and humorous in many places. This is not some stuffy, dense, legalistic tome. They keep it real. No matter one's political inclinations, this book will impress. Few people have the legal experience of these two authors. Justice Scalia's experience and background are well known. Perhaps more so now that he has had the extensive tributes following his recent death. Bryan Garner, the co-author, is also well credentialed and quite well thought of due to his role as the lead editor for "Black's Law Dictionary" of legal terms. The two men masterfully break down statutory application principles and explain their analysis. While these two legal experts agree on most principles, they do not feel obliged to be in lock step with one another on their legal and writing philosophies. This adds to the book's charm and effectiveness, as the differing viewpoints are discussed and celebrated.

14 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Tip of the Iceberg

An Unrelenting Dismantling of Consequentialism

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2016

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If had not been clear before, the final line of the book will leave the reader in no doubt that the argument throughout 'Reading Law', more than for originalism or textualism, is for democracy itself.

Out of the dry matter of judicial interpretation, Scalia and Garner make an elegant case for judicial restraint as one of the bedrocks of American democracy. The authors codify canons of statutory interpretation that have enjoyed storeyed use, predominantly borrowing from Anglo-American jurisprudence. In a subsequent section, they deal with a variety of false notions and half-truths, reserving particularly withering scorn for legislative intent. (Which legislative intent? Of one congressman? Or lobbyist? And at which point in the legislative process? And why should the voice of one be allowed to rule the democractic will of the assembly as reflected in the words of the statute?)

The authors' case is that judicial respect for the statutes issuing from democratic assemblies is respect for the democratic process itself. It is clear throughout the work that the authors view the beginning of judicial activism as the end of democratic oversight and control. Scalia and Garner write respectively from a social conservative and socially liberal perspective, in favour of originalist and textualist interpretative approaches, and it is greatly to be regretted that these approaches are often crudely described as conservative, as though liberalism and the soundest interpretations of the democratic will were contradictory. To be a liberal textualist or liberal originalist is no more contradictory than to be a conservative consequentialist.

There is a poignancy too in reading the text: how greatly it is to be regretted that one American's finest jurists was taken from us in - judging by this work - his intellectual prime.

One person found this helpful

Kelvin LEE

A must read for law students and lawyers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2016

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A good book which summarised principles in relation to interpreting statutory provisions in common law in simple language with examples. I guess many have come across Bennion but this one is much easier to understand. I have the great honour to hear Justice Scalia and Professor Garner to speak on the book in Hong Kong shortly before Justice Scalia passed away...

Mark Pummell

useful and original...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2015

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for me a very useful and original text; fresh insights and classificatory models that i've found very useful in these early days of my LLB studies...

Amazon Customer

but a brilliant piece of scholarship nonetheless

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2014

Verified Purchase

Controversial (because Justice Scalia is one of the authors), but a brilliant piece of scholarship nonetheless.

Customer

A book for all Lawyers

Reviewed in India on September 30, 2018

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Must for library

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