The cycles of statutory interpretation

This Article advances an explanation of interpretive change-the fact that t he Supreme Court frequently changes the nominal formulation of its rules fo r statutory interpretation, and to some degree changes its actual interpret ive practice as well. The prevailing styles of explanation attribute interp retive change to exogenous shocks such as a change in the party composition of the legislature or a string of judicial appointments The Article critic izes the exogenous explanatory style on methodological grounds, and advance s an alternative model that attributes interpretive change to endogenous sh ifts in the expectations of actors in the interpretive system. In particula r the Article develops a positive cycling model in which legislators and ju dges develop self-defeating expectations about the behavior of other actors in the lawmaking system, thereby causing a cyclical pattern of continuous mutual adjustment that never reaches a stable equilibrium. The Article conc ludes with some casual empiricism that is consistent with the cycling model bur problematic for the exogenous explanations.