Super statute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term super statute was applied in 2001 by William Eskridge and John Ferejohn to characterize an ordinary statute whose effort "to establish a new normative or institutional framework ... 'stick[s]' in the public culture" and has "a broad effect on the law".[1] As a result, it has a "quasi-constitutional"[2] significance that exceeds its formal status as a statute with interpretive significance for other legislation.[3]
Super statutes have a broad effect on law due to cultural influence, affecting even interpretation of constitutional provisions.[4] The fabric of the society would be fundamentally changed by repeal.[5] In practical political terms, super-statutes are embedded in the constitutional order and changing them carries political risks.[6] When super-statutes conflict, the Supreme Court will trim the one less impaired by nonapplication.[7]
Adrian Vermeule criticized the category boundaries as opaque.[8]
