CONSTRUCTION
The process by which the meaning of an ambiguous provision of a statute, written document, or oral agreement is determined.
A judge usually makes a construction of an unclear term in a document at issue in a case
that involves a dispute as to its legal significance.
The judge examines the circumstances surrounding the provision, laws, other writings,
verbal agreements dealing with the same subject matter, and the probable purpose of the unclear phrase in order to conclude the proper meaning of such words. Once the judge has done so, the court will enforce the words as construed. However, for language that is plain and clear, there cannot be a construction.
When ambiguous language is given its exact
and technical meaning, and no other equitable
considerations or reasonable implications are
made, there has been a strict or literal construc-
tion of the unclear term.
A liberal or equitable construction permits a
term to be reasonably and fairly evaluated so as
to implement the object and purpose for which
the document is designed. This does not mean
that the words will be strained beyond their nat-
ural or customary meanings.
A rule of construction is a principle that either
governs the effect of the ascertained intention of a
document or agreement containing an ambigu-
ous term or establishes what a court should do if
the intention is neither express nor implied.A reg-
ular pattern of decisions concerning the applica-
tion of a particular provision of a statute is a rule
of construction that governs how the text is to be
applied in similar cases.
The constitutionality of an ambiguous
statute is a QUESTION OF LAW and a matter of
construction within the province of the court.
The meaning of the language of the statute must
be determined in light of its objectives, pur-
poses, and practical effect as a whole. If a statute
is so ambiguous that a judge cannot make a rea-
sonable construction of its disputed provisions,
and a reasonable person could not determine
from reading it what the law orders or prohibits,
it is VOID FOR VAGUENESS because it violates the
guarantee of DUE PROCESS OF LAW.
Some states have codified terms that had in
the past been subject to repeated judicial con-
struction. The need for court proceedings to
determine the real meaning of some terms has
been eliminated by enactment of statutes that
give specific meanings—such as specifying that
“calendar day”means a twenty-four hour period
starting on midnight of one date and ending
midnight of the next day.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Canons of Construction; Judicial Action.
