Awaiting Assent No More Clarity Act

[Kaiserin_]

A
BILL
To

Repeal the Clarity Act​

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'No More Clarity Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Rep. Kaiserin_.
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Rep. MissAndrist and Rep. Omegabiebel.

2 - Reasons
(1) The Oxford Dictionary is not freely accessible to everyone.
(2) The Clarity Act mandates specific dictionary definitions be used in legislative interpretation, effectively restricting judges' ability to use common sense in determining how best to interpret laws. The judiciary's job is quite literally to interpret laws and meanings as passed by Congress.
(3) Dictionary definitions may be used to augment legal arguments, but should not be mandated by law. Over-reliance on dictionary definitions can easily create absurdities and allow for arguments that go against the spirit of the law.
(4) Legislators should be encouraged to provide their own definitions for terms in their laws for clarity, and the existence of the Clarity Act disincentives that.
(5) Legislators do not always write with the Clarity Act in mind, because common definitions often are at odds with dictionary definitions. Mandating a specific dictionary's interpretation disallows the use of basic intentionalism and purposivism to understand what legislators actually meant in court.

3 - Repeals
The Clarity Act is hereby repealed.

 

[End]

Nay - the clarity act serves to provide a definition where there is no clear definition. If a court or congress makes a definition, then the clarity act does not apply.

It does what it says - it provides a definition where one does not exist. And having the clarity act has had no input on definitions being omitted from or included in bills.

The clarity act hardly restricts a Judicial Officer's ability to employ common sense.

 

[1950Minecrafter]

Presidential Assent

This bill has been granted assent and is hereby signed into law.

1950minecrafter
20th President of the Commonwealth of Redmont
Member of the WPR​