CRIM 135 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Precedent, Golden Rule
23 Nov 2016
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Topic #2 legal reasoning: legal reasoning and case law: the doctrines of precedent and stare. Decisis: the concept of precedent, the concept of stare decisis, the operation of stare decisis: binding authority vs. Example: criminal sentencing (assault: present case: female, 25, brown hair, 1st offence, precedent #1: female, 20, black hair, 1st offence [probation, precedent #2: male, 23, blond hair, 8th offence [jail 2 mos] Legal reasoning and statutes: the rules and principles of statutory. Interpretation: the problem of ambiguity, the fundamental principle: finding the legislative intent, resolving the ambiguity: the rules and principles of statutory. Interpretation (a) the three rules of interpretation (i) the literal or plain meaning rule. Example: a municipal by-law requires all dogs within a municipality to have licences. There is a zoo within the municipality with a wolf exhibit. Do the wolves need licences? (ii) the golden rule.
