About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


30 Legal Reference Services Q. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/lgrefsq30 and id is 1 raw text is: Legal Reference Services Quarterly, 30:1-6, 2011 Routledge Copyright 0 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Taylor& Francis Group ISSN: 0270-319X print / 1540-949X online DOI: 10.1080/0270319X.2011.588045 Introduction to Special Issue: Determining Legislative Intent in State Courts, Selected Methods and Sources LINDA KAWAGUCHI Gonzaga University School ofLaw, Spokane, Washington, USA Yet we fight over the meaning of statutes, and we fight about how to fight over the meanings of statutes.' First, a confession: I love everything about legislative histories-the mecha- nistic process of identifying and compiling legislative documents generated by a bill making its way through the maze of Congressional activity; the jurisprudential theories on whether, and to what extent, courts should use those documents to interpret statutes and ascertain legislative intent; and the idea that legislative history documents represent the collective effort of our legislators working together for the societal good to find solutions to problems that affect the lives of millions of people. The sheer volume and range of issues brought before Congress is both overwhelming and endlessly fascinating. Congressional documents are tan- gible evidence of government actions and run the gamut from ridiculous grandstanding to matters of life and death. I remember watching hearings on the Iran-Contra Investigation in 1987, when members of Congress ques- tioned Oliver North about discussions regarding suspending the Constitution in the event of an emergency.2 At the time, I happened to be reading The Handmaid's Tale,3 a dystopian novel where the United States government was overthrown by a totalitarian regime called the Republic of Gilead, and one of their first acts was to suspend the Constitution. Reading about how that seemingly abstract concept affected the lives of (fictional) citizens while watching the Iran-Contra hearings was disturbingly surreal and ominous. More recently, Stephen Colbert (the host of 7be Colbert Report on Comedy Central) appeared before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.4 He testified about his Address correspondence to Linda Kawaguchi, Chastek Library, Gonzaga University School of Law, 721 N. Cincinnati St., Spokane, WA 99220-3528, USA. E-mail: lkawaguchi@ lawschool.gonzaga.edu 1