lenity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But it might also reflect “the result of compromise, compassion, lenity, or misunderstanding of the governing law.”
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2024
Sotomayor joined most of Gorsuch’s full-throated support for the rule of lenity in Wooden.
From Slate • Mar. 1, 2023
This opinion spurred Justice Brett Kavanaugh to write his own concurrence rejecting the rule of lenity while endorsing a requirement of “proof that the defendant was aware that his conduct was unlawful.”
From Slate • Mar. 8, 2022
Dershowitz further suggested that the "rule of lenity," or the legal doctrine that ambiguities should be resolved in favor of defendants, also counseled towards acquitting the president.
From Fox News • Jan. 27, 2020
Like many people, Chris apparently judged artists and close friends by their work, not their life, yet he was temperamentally incapable of extending such lenity to his father.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Vocabulary lists containing lenity
