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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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JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:35
no he’s literally like 8 and he fully just put his head on my bicep and slept
JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:35
he has since moved
22:12
@SplitterusClitterus: me yesterday
gulc baby pls text me back... i miss you ...... :(
22:23
i just went into a discord vc and yelled "YALL I JUST GOT INTO J.M. SCHOOL OF LAW"
22:24
people were getting excited :sob:
22:25
then someone was like "what does jm stand for" and i was like .. well
AHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH
@JumpySubsequentDolphin: wait this is so cute, also where r u going
JOE MBIDEN
JumpySubsequentDolphin
22:39
@splitty Oregon!
oh yay for what thats so random
JumpySubsequentDolphin
22:45
haha my brother and sister in law live there
so cutie oregon is beatiful
soyalmondoatmilk
8:38
good morning! hoping waves will come our wave today
8:42
GW wave today?
8:57
There’s someone I found on here with the username threeoutchange and if my understanding is correct that’s a reference to the debut album by a pretty cool 90s-00s Japanese band called Supercar. I geeked a little
8:57
It could just be a baseball reference I don’t get though lol
Dkk
9:00
@renard99: also, the same band that does a song in the anime Eureka 7 which I watched when I was like idk, 12
9:00
Yeah! They are pretty good. Three Out Change is an awesome J-rock record
Dkk
9:01
I will probably not listen to them more but fun fact. Really random to start the day. An omen that the waves will be very random today.
Dkk
9:03
Fuck, reading the wikipedia now. Literal last song they did before they broke up was Storywriter. Wow.
9:05
That one is a masterpiece
9:05
My favorite song by them is Recreation
glovediedthisishismom
9:05
snowing
Dkk
9:07
@renard99: man, hard to find.
Dkk
9:07
@glovediedthisishismom: Congrats on the snow.
Dkk
9:16
@renard99: Poetic and nice.
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