How Clear Is "Clear"?: A Lenient Interpretation of the Gregory v Ashcroft Clear Statement Rule

Abstract

The clear statement rule is a method of statutory interpretation that courts apply when a federal statute alters the balance of power between the federal government and the states.1 In these situations, courts require legislators to draft statutory language that unmistakably states congressional intent to modify the federal-state balance. In the absence of a clear statement, courts will hold a statute inapplicable to the states. The clear statement rule was developed principally as a method for courts to ensure that Congress adequately deliberated before abrogating the states' Eleventh Amendment immunity from suit in federal court, and the rule has been applied subsequently in a number of other situations in which federalism interests are implicated.2 In Gregory v Ashcroft,3 the Supreme Court extended the clear statement rule to congressional interfer-ence with state de-