Connecticut National Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249 (1992)

The record

Level

Legal authority

Authority

Connecticut National Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249 (1992)

Issued

1992-03-09 Mar. 9, 1992

In force

Mar. 9, 1992 (no end date recorded; counted as in force for 120 days)

Character

case

Operative words

We have stated time and again that courts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there.... When the words of a statute are unambiguous, then, this first canon is also the last: "judicial inquiry is complete." (Germain, 503 U.S. at 253-54). "When we find the terms of a statute unambiguous, judicial inquiry is complete, except 'in rare and exceptional circumstances.'" (Rubin, 449 U.S. at 430)

Notes