List and define the rules of construction and rules of statutory interpretation discussed in the text

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Answer 1

Some of the traditional guidelines used by courts in interpreting statutory law are:
The rules of constructionâ€"The rules of statutory construction are rules that control the judicial interpretation of the language and intent of a statute. For example, one statutory rule of construction is that specific provisions are given greater weight than general provisions when there is a conflict between the two.

The plain-meaning ruleâ€"Under the plain-meaning rule, the words chosen by the legislature must be understood according to their common meanings. If the statute is clear on its face (in its obvious meaning), and therefore capable of only one interpretation, that interpretation must be given to it. No additional inquiries, such as inquiries into legislative intent or history, are permitted when the meaning of the statute is clear on its face.
Previous judicial interpretationsâ€"A statutory interpretation made by a higher
court in the same jurisdiction must be accepted as binding by the lower courts in that jurisdiction. Citations to court cases relating to specific statutes may be found in the annotated versions of state or federal statutory codes.
Legislative intentâ€"Another technique used in statutory interpretation is learning the intent of the legislature when the statute was passed. A court using this method determines the meaning of the statute by attempting to find out why the legislators chose to word the statute as they did or what the legislators sought to accomplish by enacting the statute. This can be done by investigating the legislative history of the statute.