State v. Evans

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 127,467 STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. BERT EVERETT EVANS, Appellant. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. The guiding principle of statutory interpretation is to give effect to the Legislature's intent whenever that intent can be determined. To discern that intent, courts first look at the statute's plain language, interpreting words according to their ordinary meaning. If the language is clear and unambiguous, courts should not look beyond the text or add meaning that does not appear in the statute. But if the statute's wording is ambiguous, courts will…