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LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

purpose approach

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A quick definition of purpose approach:

The purpose approach is a way of understanding laws. It means that when we read a law, we should try to figure out what problem the law was made to solve. Then, we should interpret the law in a way that helps solve that problem. This is called the mischief rule or the rule in Heydon's Case. It is different from other ways of understanding laws, like the plain-meaning rule or the equity-of-the-statute rule.

A more thorough explanation:

The purpose approach, also known as the mischief rule, is a doctrine used in statutory construction. It states that a statute should be interpreted by first identifying the problem or "mischief" that the statute was designed to remedy. Then, a construction should be adopted that will suppress the problem and advance the remedy.

For example, let's say there is a law that prohibits the sale of alcohol to minors. The purpose of this law is to prevent underage drinking and its negative consequences. If a new type of alcoholic beverage is created that is not explicitly mentioned in the law, the purpose approach would be used to determine whether the sale of this new beverage to minors is prohibited or not. The court would look at the purpose of the law and determine whether the sale of this new beverage would advance or suppress the problem of underage drinking.

Another example is a law that requires all drivers to wear seat belts. The purpose of this law is to increase safety and reduce injuries in car accidents. If a person is pulled over for not wearing a seat belt but claims they were only driving a short distance, the purpose approach would be used to determine whether the person violated the law or not. The court would look at the purpose of the law and determine whether the person's actions advanced or suppressed the problem of car accident injuries.

These examples illustrate how the purpose approach is used to interpret laws based on their intended purpose and the problems they were designed to solve.

purpose | purpose clause

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10:38
Very happy with LR other than having to guess on a couple questions cuz of time
10:42
i have a question about my personal statement. in my activism for the hospitality workers' union, i organized and spoke up in favor of stronger regulations on airbnb because the unregulated spread of airbnb throughout LA was inflating housing costs for workers and threatening their job security. do you think it's too divisive to mention regulating airbnb? idk
Nostradumbass
10:44
I wrote mine about how all activists should be consolidated into a large smelting pot and refined down to a viscous goo
Nostradumbass
10:45
Expecting a lot of rejections though
11:07
I'm sure you'll get a full ride to a few schools :P
11:11
The impression I get is most schools try not to judge based on the political implications of what you write about. They probably care more that you saw a problem and tried to fix it. That seems like a great thing to write a PS about @chowie
11:18
Besides, if a school didn’t let you in for trying to fix a problem you saw in your community, that doesn’t say great things about your school’s culture (assuming the thing you did showed good common sense judgment ofc)
11:19
That school’s* culture
11:23
Thanks Howl you're right :D I def talked about solving problems in my PS
12:03
@HowlEngineer: what's your dream school
MildChiller
12:08
"Have you applied for admission to [school] in a prior year" I applied in Oct. of the 23-24 cycle, should I put 23 or 24 as the year I applied?
MildChiller
12:09
Bcuz 2023 is when I technically applied but I applied for admissions in 2024
12:14
2024 cuz that's when you would've been admitted
I agree with Howl
12:19
Gecko what's ur dream school
Hard to say. I'm pretty firmly committed to the philly area so probably temple or villanova
Also relatively debt averse so I'd have to get a good scholarship from BC or Fordham to want to go but that's not very likely for me
Any advice? lol
[] baddestbunny
12:25
what’s a good scholarship for you? what would make BC or Fordham worth it?
12:25
Hmmmm let me think
[] baddestbunny
12:25
fordham’s max aid they give is 45k per year
Bunny I can possibly get a 75%+ scholarship from villanova or temple, and I'd be moving back in with my parents if I went there so I'd have near-zero COL. It'd be really hard to beat that
I would prefer BC over Fordham just because I like boston more, but I'm expecting a WL there tbh
I would maybe consider BC with $ but I don't know how to decide if a better biglaw chance is worth the COL + higher tuition
12:50
How do I know if my status checkers are properly linked
12:59
@ChowieBean: right now, Michigan, but there are several that come close. How about you?
13:05
@Law01: I haven't gotten the status checkers to work at all. When I sent an email to the LSData folks the other week, they said they were working on fixing them
13:10
but I think "Last Checked" would change from "Never" to something else
13:30
@HowlEngineer: I'll get more specific once I get my LSAT score, but NYU, Berk, GTown, UCLA
13:30
Anywhere that's top for PI
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