Rubin v. United States, 449 U.S. 424 (1981)

The record

Level

Legal authority

Authority

Rubin v. United States, 449 U.S. 424 (1981)

Issued

1981-01-21 Jan. 21, 1981

In force

Jan. 21, 1981 (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