Under the name tag rule, when does a statute apply to only the identified court?

• A. If a statute clearly identifies the court to which it applies, then it applies to that court only
• B. If it doesn't identify a court, it applies to all courts
• C. It applies to the highest court
• D. It depends on the judge's interpretation

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the wording of a statute fixes who must follow it. If the statute clearly names a specific court, that language limits the statute’s effect to just that court. The court named is the boundary of the statute’s reach, so other courts aren’t bound by it unless the statute says so in another form. This keeps the rule predictable: targeted language means targeted application.

If no court is named, the statute’s reach isn’t defined by a tag, so other rules would determine scope, and it wouldn’t automatically be restricted to only one court. It isn’t about applying to the highest court or about how a judge interprets the language, but about what the statute explicitly says.