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.

Gorsuch is the court’s most consistent proponent of the rule of lenity, sometimes to the conservatives’ dismay.

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2023

Some decisions suggest that it applies only to “grievous ambiguities,” he noted, but “this ‘grievous’ business does not derive from any well-considered theory about lenity or the mainstream of this court’s opinions.”

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

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