The Emily and the Caroline

22 U.S. 381·1824

What the Court Decided

An early Supreme Court case establishing that statutes should not be read in ways that defeat their own purpose when a reasonable alternative construction is available — a foundational principle of statutory interpretation.

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Cited In

Garland v. VanDerStok

2024 Term · 23-852

General Prelogar cited this early case in rebuttal for the principle that courts need not interpret a statute in a self-defeating manner when a plausible alternative construction exists, arguing respondents' reading would let any manufacturer evade the Gun Control Act through a trivial workaround.