A theory of scrivener's error

This Article examines the doctrine of scrivener's error, which permits courts to disregard clear errors of expression in statutes. The doctrine is typically conceived as a rule of statutory interpretation. The Article argues in favor of reconceptualizing the doctrine instead as a substantive rule of constitutional law namely as an application of the doctrine of strict scrutiny to the rule of recognition for statutes set out in Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution. The Article concludes that in addition to providing a better conceptual grounding for the scrivener's error doctrine, the proposal reveals that certain disputes about the implications of the doctrine are misconceived.