absurdity canon
Defined in 1 dictionary — Case Law
Definitions from Case Law
From 271 U.S. 354 - United States v. Katz · 1926Most cited · 573 citing opinions
General terms descriptive of a class of persons made subject to a criminal statute may and should be limited, where the literal application of the statute would lead to extreme or absurd results, and where the legislative purpose gathered from the whole act would be satisfied by a more limited interpretation