State v. Letterman

No. 122,118 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. TRISTAN T. LETTERMAN, Appellant. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. When appellate courts interpret statutes, their primary aim is to give effect to the legislature's intent, articulated through the language the legislature has chosen. Courts therefore give common words their ordinary meanings. When a statute is plain and unambiguous, an appellate court does not speculate as to the legislative intent behind it and will not read into the statute something not readily found in it. 2. Only when the meaning of a…