Words and structures change their meaning over time. The text of laws, however, does not change, absent amendment or other revision. These two facts make it difficult for judges, scholars, and observers to understand and interpret texts such as the U.S. Constitution. Current trends in legal interpretation make historical linguistic understanding urgent. This conference, sponsored by the Historical Semantics and Legal Interpretation research project, brought together linguists and legal scholars who are applying linguistic techniques to questions of legal historical importance. The conference aimed to provide a forum for presenting results, and to stimulate and inform discussions across the boundaries of disciplinary expertise.