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Simple English definitions for legal terms

doctrine of the last preceding antecedent

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A quick definition of doctrine of the last preceding antecedent:

The doctrine of the last preceding antecedent, also known as the rule of the last antecedent, is a legal principle that helps interpret ambiguous phrases in contracts or laws. It states that when a phrase has multiple antecedents (the word or phrase that a pronoun refers to), the pronoun should be interpreted to refer to the last antecedent mentioned. This means that the meaning of the phrase is limited to the last thing mentioned before the pronoun, and not any other antecedents that came before it.

A more thorough explanation:

The doctrine of the last preceding antecedent, also known as the rule of the last antecedent, is a principle of interpretation used in legal and grammatical contexts. It states that a qualifying phrase or clause applies only to the noun or phrase immediately preceding it.

"The teacher gave pencils to the students who passed the test."

In this sentence, the qualifying phrase "who passed the test" applies only to "students," not to "pencils" or "teacher." Therefore, only the students who passed the test received pencils from the teacher.

Another example:

"I gave cookies to my friends who came to the party."

Here, the qualifying phrase "who came to the party" applies only to "friends," not to "cookies" or "I." Therefore, only the friends who came to the party received cookies from the speaker.

These examples illustrate how the doctrine of the last preceding antecedent helps to clarify the intended meaning of a sentence by limiting the scope of a qualifying phrase or clause.

doctrine of the last antecedent | doctrine of unconstitutional conditions

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im distracting myself by schizo-scrolling r/lawschoolamissions and every conceivable data point on this godforsaken website
it is not working
Haaa I naturally want to do that too. I’m trying to stop. They need a surgeon general’s warning on this site for perspective law students
i spend more time on here then anything else trying to rationalize that the waves from last year will match waves for this year (they won't) and that the stats of people with the same stats are indicative of my own (they aren't)
There aren't many people in my stat range so I pretty much know every result in my range after being on here for a few years
9:28
congrats on the 172 bruce
go dawgs fr
9:29
roll tide
do we foresee a fordham election day wave today (i'm delusional)
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
9:31
I think so, Jack
9:31
some people hate him. some people love him, but he a real one: https://youtu.be/w5oEqiVQcF4?t=173
9:32
[kevin oleary]
worthless i trust you implicitly you know what it will happen now.
worthless i trust you implicitly you know what it will happen now.
worthless i trust you implicitly you know what it will happen now.
worthless i trust you implicitly you know what it will happen now.
worthless i trust you implicitly you know what it will happen now.
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
9:34
I mean if Fordham doesn't release today I will purposefully get on a train, go to new york, and then take the stinkiest shit inside the admission office's toilet (potentially clogging it and forcing them to get a plumber)
IS IT ONLY ON MY END WHY DID THAT SEND TEN MILLION TIMES
HELLO
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
9:35
it sent a million times lol
WHAT HAPPENED
yeah i thought you were tweaking for a second
i'm so sorry everyone what the actual fuck this website hates me
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
9:35
Jack's just tweaking on LSD no biggie
to be fair this accurately represents my mental state
election day psychosis coming in hot (fordham)
usc pls pull through .....
i literally just need one A so i can relax before my ED decision
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
9:38
oh that's right USC might release
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