Williamson v. Hawai'i Paroling Authority

Dissenting Opinion of

ACOBA, J.,

with whom LEVINSON, J. joins.

“When I used a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Aice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”

L. Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass 169-71 (1981) (emphasis in original). In construing statutes, we are not at liberty to resort to an “Aliee-in-Wonderland” lexicon. The plain meaning of terms in a statute…