Also known as: whereas clause · recitals
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A series of clauses in the preamble or introductory portion of a constitution, statute, contract, or other legal document, each beginning with the word whereas and setting forth the document's basis and objective.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Walter Washington drafted a document that opened with whereas clauses reciting his intent to dispose of his estate and stating this is my last will. He showed the document to his girlfriend to induce her to remain in the relationship. After his death the girlfriend offered the document for probate. Extrinsic evidence established that Walter never intended the document to operate as a will, so the court refused to give it effect.
Congress passed a joint resolution containing whereas clauses that recited threats to national security from arms sales to a foreign nation. The President then issued an embargo order. Challengers argued the resolution failed to authorize the order. The Court examined the whereas clauses to confirm that Congress had delegated broad foreign-affairs authority to the executive.
A state statute opened with whereas clauses declaring that compulsory flag salutes would promote patriotism and national unity. Students who refused to salute were expelled. The Court looked past the whereas clauses and held that the statute violated the First Amendment by compelling speech.
The Affordable Care Act contained whereas clauses explaining the problems of uninsured Americans and rising healthcare costs. Congress relied on those clauses to justify the individual mandate. The Court examined the clauses but ultimately held that the mandate could not be sustained under the Commerce Clause.
A federal statute included whereas clauses stating that cable operators had market power that threatened broadcast television. Broadcasters invoked the clauses to defend must-carry rules. The Court used the clauses to identify Congress's interest but required further evidence that the rules were narrowly tailored.
An executive order contained whereas clauses reciting an economic emergency in the oil industry and authorizing production quotas. A company violated the quotas and challenged the order. The Court held that the whereas clauses could not supply the intelligible principle required for a valid delegation of legislative power.
Whereas clauses supply context and may resolve ambiguity, but they cannot override clear language in the enacting part of the statute.
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Yes. Whereas clauses and similar recitals create only a rebuttable presumption of testamentary intent. Extrinsic evidence may show the document was executed for a non-testamentary purpose and therefore is not effective as a will.
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No. Rule 54(a) provides that a judgment should not include recitals of pleadings or prior proceedings, so whereas clauses have no place in the judgment itself.
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…to those required for the public schools."[^maj-1] The Board of Education on January 9, 1942, adopted a resolution containing recitals taken largely from the Court's Gobitis opinion and ordering that the salute to the flag become "a regular part of the program of activities in the public schools," that all teachers and…