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.

Which leads to a second reason to reject a broad reading of the law: the rule of lenity.

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2023

The biggest side-squabble revolved around an issue that Kagan didn’t even address: the rule of lenity, which requires courts to interpret ambiguous criminal laws in favor of the defendant.

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

“At the very least,” Kagan writes, the rule of lenity “should tip the scales in Lockhart’s favor,” because the majority does not “unambiguously” demonstrate that the critical clause does not apply to all three crimes.

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2016

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