Legal Definitions - in pari materia

Definition: In pari materia means "in the same matter" in Latin. It refers to laws or statutes that are related to the same subject or matter.

For example, if there are two laws that deal with the same topic, they are considered to be in pari materia. When interpreting these laws, a judge may look at both of them together to resolve any inconsistencies or conflicts between them.

One example of in pari materia is the relationship between federal and state laws. If a state law is related to a federal law, they are considered to be in pari materia. This means that the state law must be interpreted in a way that is consistent with the federal law.

Another example is the relationship between different sections of the same law. If two sections of a law deal with the same subject, they are in pari materia. This means that they should be interpreted together to ensure that they are consistent with each other.