Summary: In recent years, textualism has come to replace legislative history as the most important tool available to Supreme Court Justices when interpreting statutory text. This panel will examine the new textualism and will debate its merits. What are the arguments for and against textualism? When, if ever, ought a judge consider legislative history? This panel will also address the question of whether theJjustices all share the same approach to statutory interpretation or whether they continue to diverge in predictable ways. What effect does the choice of interpretive techniques have on congressional drafting of legislation in the future? -- The Federalist Society's Practice Groups presented this showcase panel on "Textualism and Statutory Interpretation" on Saturday, November 16, during the 2013 National Lawyers Convention. -- Featuring: Prof. John F. Duffy, Samuel H. McCoy II Professor of Law and Armistead M. Dobie Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; Prof. William N. Eskridge, Jr., John A. Garver Prof. of Jurisprudence, Yale Law School; Prof. Abbe R. Gluck, Yale Law School; and Prof. Victoria F. Nourse, Georgetown University Law Center. Moderator: Hon. William H. Pryor Jr., United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.
