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30 Am. J. Crim. L. 279 (2002-2003)
The Void-for-Vagueness Doctrine in the Supreme Court, Revisited

handle is hein.journals/ajcl30 and id is 287 raw text is: The Void-for-Vagueness Doctrine in the Supreme
Court, Revisited
Andrew E. Goldsmith*
1.        Introduction  ....................................................................................... 280
II.       The  V agueness   Test ........................................................................... 283
A .  N o tice  .........................................................................................  28 3
B .  Separation   of  Pow ers .................................................................. 284
C. Prevention of Arbitrary Enforcement ......................................... 286
D. Creation of Standard for Appeal ................................................. 293
E.   Creation of Record for Appeal ................................................... 294
III.      V agueness   D efenses  .......................................................................... 294
A .  Extant D  efenses .......................................................................... 295
i.   Cure: Judicial Interpretation Narrows Statute ..................... 295
ii.  Cure: Legislative History Illuminates Meaning .................. 296
iii. Cure: Specialized Definitions Illuminate Meaning ............. 298
iv. Cure: Common Understanding of Language Illuminates
M  eaning  .............................................................................. 299
v.   Cure: Context of Prohibited Conduct Illuminates
M eaning   .............................................................................. 300
vi. Cure: Law Enforcement Agencies Have Created
M eaning  ............................................................................... 300
vii. Excuse: Statute Requires Scienter ....................................... 301
viii. Excuse: Statute is Easy to Apply in Practice ....................... 303
B. Never-Adopted, Abandoned, and Disavowed Defenses ............. 303
i.   Cure: Related Statutes Illuminate Meaning ......................... 303
ii.  Cure: Law-Abiding Citizen Would Understand Statute ...... 304
iii. Cure: Use of Language in Other Federal Law Illuminates
M  eaning  ............................................................................... 30 5
iv. Cure: Statutes Similar to the Challenged One Are
W  idespread  .......................................................................... 306
v.   Excuse: Subject Matter Requires Imprecise Language ....... 306
vi. Excuse: Defendants Have Actual Notice ............................. 307
A.B. 1999 Brown University; J.D. 2004 (expected) Harvard Law School. I would like to thank
Professors Richard Fallon and William Stuntz, as well as Josh Gottheimer, Mina Matlon, and my
family, for their advice on the preparation of this article. Research contributing to this article began as a
project on behalf of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, and I
would like to thank Daniel R. Alonso there for entrusting me with that assignment. The views presented
here are my own.

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