Also known as: legislative purposes · legislative intent
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An objective or intent of the legislature, appearing from the statute defining the offense, that excludes a claimed justification for otherwise criminal conduct.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Levi Lowe, facing a trespass charge after entering a neighbor's property to rescue a child from a fire, claims necessity. The court finds that the statute defining trespass contains no exception for emergencies and that a legislative purpose to exclude the justification plainly appears from the narrow wording of the offense. The defense is therefore unavailable.
Legacy Motors launches a tender offer for shares of a target incorporated in Illinois. The state act requires lengthy pre-offer disclosures and administrative review that apply only to out-of-state bidders. The court concludes that the statute's asserted purpose of protecting shareholders is undermined by its exemption for a local company's self-tender, revealing an improper purpose that burdens interstate commerce.
Luna Lang lives with her grandson and two great-grandchildren in a single-family zone. The city ordinance defines family to exclude this arrangement. The court determines that the ordinance's stated purpose of preserving neighborhood character does not justify the burden on extended family living arrangements protected by due process.
Logan Lane, a journalist, refuses to reveal sources to a grand jury investigating a crime. The court finds that the state's interest in obtaining evidence for criminal prosecutions outweighs any asserted legislative purpose to protect newsgathering, so the First Amendment claim fails.
Lumen Capital challenges a state commission order banning promotional advertising by electric utilities. The court examines whether the order advances the asserted legislative purpose of energy conservation and whether that purpose could be served by less restrictive means.
Lorenzo Lugo, an alien facing deportation, challenges a one-house resolution that blocks suspension of his removal. The court concludes that the legislative veto mechanism serves no legitimate legislative purpose that justifies bypassing bicameralism and presentment requirements.
Under Model Penal Code section 3.02(1)(c), a justification is unavailable if a legislative purpose to exclude the claimed justification plainly appears from the statute defining the offense. The court looks to the text and structure of the offense to determine whether the legislature intended to foreclose the defense in that situation.
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Model Penal Code section 2.05(1)(b) provides that culpability requirements do not apply to offenses defined by non-Code statutes when a legislative purpose to impose absolute liability plainly appears. When conviction rests on that absolute-liability element, the offense is reclassified as a violation rather than a higher-grade crime.
…new Connecticut Statute, Pub. Act No. 1 (May 1972 special session), declaring it to be the public policy of the State and the legislative intent "to protect and preserve human life from the moment of conception." [^maj-56]: Edelstein 16. [^maj-57]: Lader 97-99; D. Feldman, Birth Control in Jewish Law 251-294 (1968). For a stricter…
…of longtime friends? The point is that any definition would produce hardships in some cases without materially advancing the legislative purpose
…is made to enact what confessedly the legislature never meant. It confers upon the statute a positive operation beyond the
…Illinois views as inadequate to protect investors in other contexts. This distinction is at variance with Illinois' asserted legislative purpose, and tends to undermine appellant's justification for the burdens the statute imposes on interstate commerce. We are also unconvinced that the Illinois Act substantially enhances the…
…and intellectual relationships in the myriad of such societies and groups that exist in this country, regardless of the legislative purpose sought to be served. . . . If that is not true, I see no barrier to investigation of newspapers, churches, political parties, clubs, societies, unions, and any other association for their…
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Each inquiry must be tied to a valid legislative purpose such as oversight of existing laws, consideration of new legislation, or exposure of government waste. Investigations lacking any connection to a legitimate legislative function exceed Congress's authority.
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No. A facially neutral statute is not treated as a suspect classification merely because it produces a disparate impact. The plaintiff must show that the legislature adopted the law at least in part because of its adverse effect on the protected class, not merely in spite of that effect.
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Retroactive application satisfies due process when it is supported by a legitimate legislative purpose furthered by rational means. A short period of retroactivity used to close a loophole or correct a mistake in the tax code is ordinarily constitutional.
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