California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Overstreet, 184 Cal.App.3d 1345, 216 Cal.Rptr. 176 (Cal. App. 1985):
"It is a 'well-established principle of statutory interpretation that if no ambiguity, uncertainty, or doubt about the meaning of a statute appears, the provision is to be applied according to its terms without further judicial construction. (Citation.)' [Citation.] It is equally well settled that 'ambiguities in penal statutes must be construed in favor of the offender, not the prosecution.' [Citation.] The literal language of statute may be disregarded only if it would lead to absurd results. [Citations.]" (McMillon v. Superior Court, supra, 157 Cal.App.3d 654, 657, 204 Cal.Rptr. 52.)
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