Ashwander Rules Law and Legal Definition
Ashwander rules are a set of principles put forward by Justice Brandeis's concurring opinion in Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288 (U.S. 1936). These rules speak about the U.S. Supreme Court's policy of deciding constitutional questions only when necessary, and of avoiding a constitutional question if the case can be decided on the basis of another issue. They are:
1. The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of legislation in a friendly, non-adversary, proceeding, declining because to decide such questions "is legitimate only in the last resort, and as a necessity in the determination of real, earnest and vital controversy between individuals. It never was the thought that, by means of a friendly suit, a party beaten in the legislature could transfer to the courts an inquiry as to the constitutionality of the legislative act.
2. The Court will not anticipate a question of constitutional law in advance of the necessity of deciding it.
3. The Court will not formulate a rule of constitutional law broader than is required by the precise facts to which it is to be applied.
4. The Court will not pass upon a constitutional question although properly presented by the record, if there is also present some other ground upon which the case may be disposed of.
5. The Court will not pass upon the validity of a statute upon complaint of one who fails to show that he is injured by its operation.
6. The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of a statute at the instance of one who has availed himself of its benefits.
7. When the validity of an act of the Congress is drawn in question, and even if a serious doubt of constitutionality is raised, it is a cardinal principle that the Court will first ascertain whether a construction of the statute is fairly possible by which the question may be avoided.
These rules are also known as Brandeis rules.
Legal Definition list
- Asbestosis
- Asbestos-Containing Waste Materials [National Emission Standard for Asbestos]
- Asbestos Tailings [National Emission Standard For Asbestos]
- Asbestos Mill [National Emission Standard for Asbestos]
- Asbestos Lawsuit
- Ashwander Rules
- Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution
- Asian Americans
- Asian Elephant
- Asian Elephant Conservation
- Asian Elephant Conservation Act
