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Can the SJC redefine (reformulate) the meaning of a word in a document to change the meaning of that term in that document?

April 26, 2017DOCUMENT redefine reformulate sjc term word

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Can the SJC redefine (reformulate) the meaning of a word in a document to change the meaning of that term in that document?

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No. The SJC claimed to be able to do so by citing Halpern (Canada), Powers v. Wilkinson, 399 Mass. 650, 661-662 (1987) (reforming the common-law rule of construction of “issue”), and Lewis v. Lewis, 370 Mass. 619, 629 (1976) (abolishing the common-law rule of certain interspousal immunity). In stark contrast to the Goodridge facts, not one of those cases involved the definition of a word that exists in either a statute or in the Massachusetts Constitution.