strict construction
Defined in 4 dictionaries — Case Law, Cyclopedic (1922), Ballentine's (1916), Bouvier (1914)
Definitions from Case Law
From 333 U.S. 18 - United States v. Brown · 1948Most cited · 748 citing opinions
The canon in favor of strict construction is not an inexorable command to override common sense and evident statutory purpose. It does not require magnified emphasis upon a single ambiguous word in order to give it a meaning contradictory to the fair import of the whole remaining language... it is satisfied if the words are given their fair meaning in accord with the manifest intent of the lawmakers.
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
A rule of judicial interpretation or exposition which follows closely the letter of the statute or instrument construed disfavoring any extension or relaxation of it by implication, favor, or equity; a close and conservative adherence to the literal or textual interpretation. It is not the exact converse of "liberal construction," for it does not consist in giving words the narrowest meaning of which they are susceptible. 267 111. 86.
Ballentine's Law Dictionary
James A. Ballentine · 1916
Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia
John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914