Antitrust Decisions and Legislative Intent

While recent decisions leave no doubt that the Court has revised its view concerning the purpose or goals of the antitrust laws, exactly when the revisionist period began is less clear. Continental T.V., Inc. v. GTE Sylvania Inc., was decided in the 1976-77 term. In overruling its decision in United States v. Arnold Schwinn & Co., decided just ten years earlier, the Court relied heavily on the writing of Robert Bork. Bock since has become the leading advocate for the new antitrust thinking. The 1976-77 Supreme court term seems to be a reasonable point of departure. Thus, the article will present a comparative analysis of the role of legislative intent in antitrust decision-making during two twenty-four-year periods. The first period is comprised of twenty-four consecutive Supreme Court terms beginning with the 1951-52 term and ends with the 1999-2000 term. To put the antitrust decisions in a broader context, the Article first will consider current views on the role of legislative intent in statutory interpretation and the goals of the antitrust laws