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Criminal Law Simons, Volumes I and II
Resource 1 . 6 . 5
1 minute

Lawrence M. Solan, "Law, Language, and Lenity"

Michael A. Simons

In Banks, the court noted that "criminal statutes must be strictly construed." Known as the "rule of lenity," this principle of statutory construction provides that ambiguous criminal statutes should be interpreted in the way that favors the defendant. What might be the reasons for such a presumption?

As the below excerpt Prof. Solan explains that many state legislatures have specifically abrogated the rule. What might be the reasons to eliminate the rule?

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