State v. Gardiner

BENCH, Court of Appeals Judge

(dissenting).

When all is said and done, the majority recognizes that this is a case of statutory construction. I dissent because I disagree with the majority’s construction of the statutes Gardiner was accused of violating.

In construing a statute, the primary focus should be on the statutory text, the words employed by the Legislature to express its intent, because “the best indication of legislative intent is the statute’s plain language.” Berube v. Fashion Centr, Ltd., 771 P.2d 1033, 1038 (Utah 1989). Thus, “[wjhere statutory language is plain and unambiguous,…