FiReTheCanons: ToolsFoRinTeRPReTaTion
Appellate Practice Section Co-Chairs: DimitriPeteves – Creed & Gowdy, P. A. & AlisonPreston – BrannockBerman & Seider
Traditionalcanonsof statutoryconstructionare useful“ rulesofthumb.”
Our marching orders are clear:“ we’ re all textualists now.” 1 And while the“ supremacy-of-text principle” remains the first step in the interpretive process, our Supreme Court has acknowledged that traditional canons 2 of statutory construction are useful“ rules of thumb.” 3 With this in mind, here is a pirate’ s guide to some of the interpretative canons recently used by Florida courts:
● Negative-implication canon: translated from expressio unius est exclusio alterius, provides that“ the reader can infer that the [ express ] mention of one thing implies the exclusion of another.” 4
● Presumption against ineffectiveness canon: favors
an interpretation that furthers rather than frustrates the text’ s intended purpose. 5
● Prior-construction canon:“ applies when the word or phrase has received‘ authoritative construction’ by the highest court or‘ uniform construction’ by inferior courts.” 6
● Whole-text canon: rather than considering an isolated word or phrase, requires that the text be viewed relative to“ its structure and of the physical and logical relation of its many parts.” 7
● Surplusage canon: avoids readings that would render parts of a statute or text meaningless. 8
● Harmonious-reading canon: a companion to the surplusage canon, it is a“ basic tenet of statutory interpretation that a‘ statute should be interpreted to give effect to every clause in it, and to accord meaning and harmony to all of its parts.’” 9
Although, like the Pirate’ s Code, these canons are more what you would call‘ guidelines’ than actual rules, 10, 11 keep them in mind the next time you are faced with a tough interpretation issue. n
1
Fla. Dep’ t of Corr. v. O’ Neal, 398 So. 3d 1100, 1102( Fla. 2d DCA 2024)( citing Harvard Law School, The Antonin
Continuedonpage17
1 6 J U LY- A U G 2 0 2 6 | H C B A L A W Y E R