lenity

The better approach, he wrote, would be to apply the “rule of lenity,” under which ambiguous laws are construed to favor the defendant.

But he said he would rule for Wooden by applying the “rule of lenity.”

The court cited the “rule of lenity,” saying that in the case of ambiguous wording or legislative intent that could not be determined, the defendant is entitled to the “benefit of any rational doubt.”

Many experts in criminal law have disputed the notion that he was treated differently in any legally meaningful sense than countless other people under investigation who lack presidential ties and receive no special lenity.

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.