STATUTES; ISSUANCES; RULES & REGULATIONS; ORDINANCES; CONSTITUTION

1. Infirmities in the language 2. Limited scope in legislative drafting 3. Failure to anticipate the future
a. Inaccurate words a. Words used do not convey what legislators meant; a. Inadequacy of the law;
b. Dual meanings b. Words used acquired other meanings over time; b. Gaps in the law.
c. Broad words c. Mistakes or omissions in the writing of statute.

Ambiguity
a. Condition of admitting two or more meanings;
b. Of being understood in more than one way;
c. Refers to two or more things at the same time;
d. Susceptible of more than one interpretation;
e. Literal interpretation leads to unjust and absurd consequences;
f. Statute is in conflict with the Constitution;
g. Statute defeats policy of legislation.

CONSTRUCTION/INTERPRETATION
1. Nature and purpose of construction 2. Limitations on power to construe
a. construction defined a. Revise action of legislature;
b. ascertain and give effect to, the intent of the law. b. Insert into law what it thinks should be in it;
c. Construction is a judicial function c. Enlarge scope of statute;
d. Legislature cannot override judicial construction d. Rewrite the law;
e. Interpret into the law a requirement not prescribed;
f. Engraft any limitations in its operation or scope.

AIDS TO CONSTRUCTION
1) INTRINSIC AIDS 2) EXTRINSIC AIDS 3) IMPLICATIONS
a. Preamble/explanatory a. Legislative history; a. Necessary implication
notes b. Executive construction; b. Illegality of act is implied from prohibition.
b. Title/subtitle c. Contemporary circumstances; c. Remedy implied from a right
c. Punctuation d. Policy of law; d. Grant of jurisdiction.
d. headnotes e. Judicial construction; e. Grant of power includes incidental power.
f. Legislative interpretation f. What is implied should not be against the law.
g. Dictionaries g. What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly.
h. Foreign decisions h. There should be no penalty for compliance with the law.
i. Grant of power excludes greater power.
j. Authority to charge against public funds is not implied.