|
|
Article: Penumbra
- Article from:
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
PENUMBRA
The rights guaranteed by implication in a constitution or the implied powers of a rule.
The original and literal meaning of
penumbra
is "a space of partial illumination between the perfect shadow
…
on all sides and the full light" (
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
, 10th ed., 1996). The term was created and introduced by astronomer Johannes Kepler in 1604 to describe the shadows that occur during eclipses. However, in legal terms penumbra is most often used as a metaphor describing a doctrine that refers to implied powers of the federal government. The doctrine is best known from the Supreme Court decision of griswold v. connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 85 S. Ct. 1678, ...