Cite as: 532 U. S. 275 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
create one, no matter how desirable that might be as a policy matter, or how compatible with the statute. See, e. g., Massachusetts Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Russell, 473 U. S. 134, 145, 148 (1985); Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis, supra, at 23; Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, supra, at 575-576. "Raising up causes of action where a statute has not created them may be a proper function for common-law courts, but not for federal tribunals." Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson, 501 U. S. 350, 365 (1991) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment).
Respondents would have us revert in this case to the understanding of private causes of action that held sway 40 years ago when Title VI was enacted. That understanding is captured by the Court's statement in J. I. Case Co. v. Borak, 377 U. S. 426, 433 (1964), that "it is the duty of the courts to be alert to provide such remedies as are necessary to make effective the congressional purpose" expressed by a statute. We abandoned that understanding in Cort v. Ash, 422 U. S. 66, 78 (1975)—which itself interpreted a statute enacted under the ancien regime—and have not returned to it since. Not even when interpreting the same Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that was at issue in Borak have we applied Borak's method for discerning and defining causes of action. See Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A., supra, at 188; Musick, Peeler & Garrett v. Employers Ins. of Wausau, 508 U. S. 286, 291-293 (1993); Virginia Bankshares, Inc. v. Sandberg, supra, at 1102-1103; Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, supra, at 576- 578. Having sworn off the habit of venturing beyond Congress's intent, we will not accept respondents' invitation to have one last drink.
Nor do we agree with the Government that our cases interpreting statutes enacted prior to Cort v. Ash have given "dispositive weight" to the "expectations" that the enacting Congress had formed "in light of the 'contemporary legal
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