Statutory text theoretically fixes both legislative aims and means

Evidence

Most disputes are of interest only to the litigants themselves. Even when a dispute has broader implications, the legislature has supplied the standard for resolving it by enacting the statute. Because statutes are designed to serve particular purposes, they can—at least in theory—state precisely the aims to be achieved and the means for their achievement. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2753

Categorization

• DEFINE: States the idealized picture of statutory interpretation the chapter will complicate.