George Sutherland

“ In other words, we are asked to ignore the quoted words and read the section as though they were not there.
But we are not at liberty thus to deny effect to a part of a statute. No rule of statutory construction has been more definitely stated or more often repeated than the cardinal rule that 'significance and effect shall, if possible, be accorded to every word. As early as in bacon's Abridgment, § 2, it was said that 'a statute ought, upon the whole, to be so construed that, if it can be prevented, no clause, sentence, or word shall be superfluous, void, or insignificant. ”

“ We are unable to perceive any ground for departing from the rule in the case before us. It follows that, giving effect to the phrase in question, section 266 requires the concurrence of two things in order to give the three-judge court jurisdiction: (1) The suit must seek to have a state statute declared unconstitutional, or that in effect; and (2) it must seek to restrain the action of an officer of the state in the enforcement of such statute. ”

“ Rutherford County (D. C.) 26 F. (2d) 799, 800; Connor v. Board of Com'rs of Logan County, Ohio (D. C.) 12 F. (2d) 789, 790; Connecting Gas Co. v. Imes (D. C.) 11 F. (2d) 191, 194, 195. The second requisite here is lacking. ”