Dictionary-Act

The movement claim that statutes addressed to 'persons' bind only those who hold the corresponding legal status — leaving 'free men and women' outside the statute's reach — is foreclosed

The movement reads 'person' in statutes as a term of art that quietly excludes 'free men and women.' Statutory construction reads 'person' as a term of inclusion meant to broaden the statute's reach, not narrow it. Every court that has engaged the distinction has rejected the movement reading. The textual observation about statutory definitions is real; the doctrinal conclusion built on it is foreclosed.