Legal Definitions - term-of-art canon

The term-of-art canon is a fundamental principle used by courts when interpreting the language of laws, especially statutes. It states that if a word or phrase has a specific, technical, or specialized meaning within a particular profession, industry, or field, then courts should presume that the term carries that specialized meaning when it appears in a law related to that specific context. This rule helps ensure that laws are interpreted as intended by the lawmakers, who often draft legislation using language familiar to the experts in the field the law addresses, rather than relying solely on the term's common, everyday definition.

• Example 1: Medical Regulations

  Imagine a new state law regulating healthcare providers that states, "Only a licensed physician may provide a diagnosis." In everyday language, someone might "diagnose" a problem with their car or "diagnose" why a plant isn't growing well. However, within the medical profession, "diagnosis" has a very specific meaning: the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms and medical tests. The term-of-art canon would ensure that when interpreting this law, "diagnosis" is understood in its precise medical sense, meaning a formal medical determination of a patient's condition, not a casual observation or a non-medical assessment.

• Example 2: Financial Legislation

  Consider a federal statute designed to prevent fraud in financial markets, which mandates that all "securities" offered to the public must be registered with a regulatory agency. In common usage, "security" might refer to safety, protection, or even a security guard. However, in the financial industry, "security" is a term of art referring specifically to tradable financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Applying the term-of-art canon, a court would interpret "securities" in this statute to mean these financial instruments, thereby ensuring that the law's registration requirements apply to the intended investment products and not to general safety measures.

• Example 3: Environmental Law

  Suppose a local ordinance prohibits the discharge of "effluent" into natural waterways without a permit. To a layperson, "effluent" might simply mean any liquid waste. However, in environmental engineering and wastewater treatment, "effluent" is a technical term referring specifically to liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea, typically from a factory or sewage treatment plant, often with specific chemical and biological characteristics. The term-of-art canon would guide a court to interpret "effluent" in this ordinance according to its precise environmental engineering definition, ensuring that the permit requirements target industrial and municipal discharges with specific environmental impacts, rather than, for instance, rainwater runoff or harmless household greywater.