Color-Ad Packaging, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue

When construing a statute, a court’s function is to ascertain and effectuate legislative intention. In pursuit of that goal a court is not free to disregard the letter of the law when the wording of the statute is clear and free from all ambiguity. However, as a corollary to that rule, when the words of the law are not explicit, or where ambiguity exists, courts must attempt to ascertain the intention of the legislature by the application of certain statutory criteria. See Minn.Stat. § 645.16 (1986). Likewise, courts are authorized to employ certain presumptions in ascertaining that…