Statute Law Revision Act

“ From an express repeal by 1796.
The fact that the act of 1796 is the work of revisors, cannot affect the construction of it. There is no rule like this laid down by the elementary writers. It is only, after all, a revised statute. Every act of a legislature implies a revision of all former laws; and is the construction of it to be varied, because A. B. prepared it? A part of the duty of revisors is to say what statutes shall be repealed. If they thought that the act of 1776 ought to have been repealed, why did they not say so? A revised act is cumulative, 11 Leigh (Va.) ”

“ This principle is undoubtedly sound; and, where there is a substantial doubt as to the meaning of the language used in the revision, the old law is a valuable source of information. The Revised Statutes must be treated as the legislative declaration of the statute law on the subjects which they embrace on the first day of December, 1873. When the meaning is plain, the courts cannot look to the statutes which have been revised to see if Congress erred in that revision, but may do so when necessary to construe doubtful language used in expressing the meaning of Congress. ”

“ An Act to promote the reform of the statute law by the repeal, in accordance with recommendations of the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission, of certain enactments which (except in so far as their effect is preserved) are no longer of practical utility ”

“ No one may be compelled to perform an act, or to refrain from the performance of an act, except by warrant of law.
The constitution is subject to amendment under regulations of a somewhat curious character. Revision of the fundamental law may be undertaken normally by Congress at the end of every decennial period, the Congress whose mandate coincides with the period of revision being endowed automatically with constituent powers and the process of revision differing in no respect from that of ordinary legislation. ”

“ In legislation, the words "amendment" and "amend" are constantly employed in the sense of "repeal" especially when reference is made to the amendment of a lengthy document, such as the Constitution or an Act of Parliament, by a repeal, total as to some provisions of the enactment, but partial when considered in relation to the document as a whole. ”

“ Thus, by saving a suitor's common-law remedy, Congress has created by § 9 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, now 28 U.S.C. (Supp. V, 1952) § 1333, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1333, only a limited exclusive jurisdiction. The state courts may furnish not only a common-law remedy existing at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, for substantive admiralty rights, but also new judicial remedies created by statute; that is, whatever remedy is not strictly in rem. ”

“ The Court undertakes the task of interpretation, however, not because the Court has any special ability to fathom the intent of Congress, but rather because interpretation is unavoidable in the decision of the case before it. When the law has been settled by an earlier case then any subsequent 'reinterpretation' of the statute is gratuitous and neither more nor less than an amendment: it is no different in effect from a judicial alteration of language that Congress itself placed in the statute.
Altering the important provisions of a statute is a legislative function. ”

“ In view of the preceding facts, and for the additional reason that the subject of the liability of the United States is now being investigated by the Department of Justice, it is respectfully suggested that the inclosed act to amend chapter 166 of the laws of the second session of the Forty-third Congress (S. 692) should not become a law. ”

“ Plaintiffs, true enough, could leave the country or die, and Congress could repeal the law. But these events are hardly probable and not the kinds of future developments that enter into the imminence inquiry. Riva v. Massachusetts, 61 F.3d 1003, 1011 (1st Cir. 1995) (“The demise of a party or the repeal of a statute will always be possible in any case of delayed enforcement, yet it is well settled that a time delay, without more, will not render a claim of statutory invalidity unripe if the application of the statute is otherwise sufficiently probable.”) ”

“ Some amendment to existing legislation may be necessary, but this does not shed any light on the interpretation of the old law. The difficulty arises from the change that has been made, not from the law as it stood originally. ”

“ If a state court can hold invalid acceptances whose validity has been approved by the Commission and the District Court, then the federal agencies have lost much of the exclusive jurisdiction which Congress granted them. There are myriad questions of state law underlying the consummation of every plan of reorganization. ”

“ Under the requirements of that Amendment property may not be taken for public use without reasonable notice of the proceedings authorized for its taking and without reasonable opportunity to be heard as to substantial matters of right affected by the taking. But a state statute does not contravene the provisions of that Amendment unless, in some substantial way, it infringes the fundamental rights of citizens and in passing on the constitutionality of a state law, its effect must be judged in the light of its practical application to the affairs of men as they are ordinarily conducted. ”

“ Legislators who know they can cure their own mistakes by amendment without significant cost may not be as careful to avoid drafting overbroad statutes as they might otherwise be. But a similar effect will not be likely if a judicial construction of a statute to eliminate overbreadth is allowed to be applied in the case before the court. ”

“ A clause in a statute purporting to repeal other statutes is not in all cases conclusive evidence of the legislative intention. The statute must be construed as a whole and the legislative intent given effect, though contrary to the terms of the repeal clause. ”

“ If it comes within the category of retrospective legislation, as has been argued, we find nothing in the Constitution limiting the power of Congress to amend or correct omissions in previous acts. It is well settled that where there is no direct constitutional prohibition, a State may pass retrospective laws, such as, in their operation, may affect suits pending, and give to a party a remedy which he did not previously possess, or modify an existing remedy, or remove an impediment in the way of legal proceedings. ”

“ The first two reforms—rotation and panel systems—raise similar legal questions. Both proposals, if enacted through statute, face a potential constitutional obstacle in the Constitution’s command in Article III, Section 1, that “ [t] he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” ”

“ If a State errs in finding that its rates are reasonable and adequate, or in supplying assurances to that effect to the Secretary, then a provider is entitled to have the court invalidate the current state plan and order the State to promulgate a new plan that complies with the Act. We note that the Courts of Appeals generally agree that when the State has complied with the procedural requirements imposed by the amendment and regulations, a federal court employs a deferential standard of review to evaluate whether the rates comply with the substantive requirements of the amendment. ”

“ It sppears, however, whatever may have been the intended application of that rule, under the 'code of civil procedure' or otherwise, that it had become inoperative by the repeal in the year 1858 of that section of the Ohio code which required such a notice to be given. The repealing Act of 1858 is a statute to amend the 313th and 314th sections of the code of civil procedure. ”

“ It is not, however, a persuasive reason for us to rewrite the legislation which Congress has in fact enacted. See Badaracco v. Commissioner, 464 U.S. 386, 398, 104 S.Ct. 756, 764, 78 L.Ed.2d 549 (1984) ("Courts are not authorized to rewrite a statute because they might deem its effects susceptible of improvement") . ”

“ Thus, the change submitted to the Attorney General is not only the Amendment, but the entire act as passed by the legislature. When the Attorney General approves the new act, he not only approves the amended portion but necessarily approves the older, reenacted part, which forms part of the new act. ”

“ We can find no indication in the 1941 legislation that Congress by amending § 5 (b) desired to delete or wholly nullify § 9 (a) . On the contrary, the normal assumption is that where Congress amends only one section of a law, leaving another untouched, the two were designed to function as parts of an integrated whole. We should give each as full a play as possible. Moreover, we are able to find in the amendment to § 5 (b) no suggestion or indication that Congress was writing a different statute of limitations than was then contained in § 9 (e) . ”

“ Cogent state policy considerations would seem to support such a view. The legislative policy embodied in the supervening enactments here would appear to be much more strongly opposed to that embodied in the old enactment than is usually true in the case of an 'amendment' or 'repeal.' It would consequently seem unlikely that the legislature intended the saving clause to apply in this situation, where the result of its application would be the conviction and punishment of persons whose 'crime' has been not only erased from the statute books but officially vindicated by the new enactments. ”

“ But this provision applies, and could only apply, to the repeal of statutes by the Congress and to the exercise by the Congress of its undoubted authority to qualify its repeal and thus to keep in force its own enactments. It is a provision enacted in recognition of the principle that, unless the statute is so continued in force by competent authority, its repeal precludes further enforcement. The Congress, however, is powerless to expand or extend its constitutional authority. ”

“ An amendment to anything already adopted is not a subsidiary motion. The matter to be amended is not pending and is therefore not affected by anything done with the amendment, provided it is not adopted. Such an amendment is a main motion subject to amendments of the first and second degrees. If the motion is to strike out an entire resolution that has been adopted, it is usually called to Rescind and is explained under that head [37] . If the motion is to amend a by-law, etc., it will be found under Amendments of Constitutions, By-laws, etc. ”

“ He argued that the proposed expansion would “impair [the Court’s] efficiency so long as the Court acts as a unit” but noted that a decision by less than the full Supreme Court may not be seen as legitimate or consistent with Article III. [182] In the 1970s and 1980s, Congress debated reforms that eventually led to the Judiciary Act of 1988, which granted the Supreme Court the discretion to decide whether to review virtually every appeal. ”

“ Whether those specified sections or any others of said Revised Statutes were repealed by the act of 1878 we do not now decide. Our decision and judgment have reference solely to section 354. It will be time enough to consider other questions when they are properly before us. ”

“ Projects are on foot, it is believed, to induce Congress to provide for new classes of claims, and to revive old ones through the repeal or modification of the statute of limitations, by which they are now barred. I presume these schemes, if proposed, will be received with little favor by Congress, and I recommend that persons having claims against the United States cognizable by any tribunal or Department thereof be required to present them at an early day, and that legislation be directed as far as practicable to the defeat of unfounded and unjust demands upon the Government ”

“ It is competent for the States to change the form of the remedy, or to modify it otherwise, as they may see fit, provided no substantial right secured by the contract is thereby impaired. No attempt has been made to fix definitely the line between alterations of the remedy, which are to be deemed legitimate, and those which, under the form of modifying the remedy, impair substantial rights. Every case must be determined upon its own circumstances. Whenever the result last mentioned is produced the act is within the prohibition of the Constitution, and to that extent void. ”

“ And if, after this delay, the widest possible scope of review were allowed in the formal trial of the case, judicial instead of administrative regulation might still be brought about.
The first essential in the conservative programme, then, was [Pg 507] to ensure the most comprehensive right of review for all cases appealed. But could Congress by statute limit or define the exercise of this judicial power on the equity side? There was no doubt as to its right under the Constitution to create or abolish Federal courts, other than the Supreme Court. ”

“ An entirely different problem arises when, instead of directing another department of government to apply a general statute to individual cases, or to supplement it by detailed regulation, Congress commands that a previously enacted statute be revived, suspended or modified, or that a new rule be put into operation, upon the finding of certain facts by an executive or administrative officer. ”

“ Obviously, also, the amendment relied upon has no application unless there is 'a plain, speedy and efficient remedy' in the state courts. And we cannot conclude that such remedy exists where, as here, a state statute definitely denying it has not been authoritatively condemned. In the circumstances it is impossible to know what position the courts of the State would take. A 'plain, speedy, and efficient remedy' cannot be predicated upon the problematical outcome of future consideration. ”