Statutory Construction

Launched in October, Statutory Construction Zone is an innovative blog from Washington, D.C., lawyer Gary O’Connor where he analyzes current federal cases that involve matters of statutory construction. For each case, he sets out the statute construed, the court’s conclusion, and the statutory construction tools used by the court. As of now, O’Connor covers the Supreme Court, D.C. Circuit, Federal Circuit, Second Circuit and Fourth Circuit. He will add other circuits if there is sufficient interest, he says. “My goal for the web site,” O’Connor wrote in an e-mail to me, “is that someone who wants to keep up with current federal statutory-construction case law (what statutes are being construed, which arguments judges are accepting or using, etc.) would be able to do so by checking this web site for 5-10 minutes every week or two.” Besides practicing as an appellate attorney for the federal government, O’Connor is secretary of the nation’s only Inn of Court specializing in appellate practice, the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court.