State v. Toliver

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS Nos. 112,509 112,510 STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. TRACEY JEROME TOLIVER, Appellant. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. The fundamental rule of statutory interpretation is that the intent of the legislature governs if that intent can be ascertained. When the statutory language is plain and unambiguous, an appellate court simply interprets the language as it appears, without speculating and without reading into the statute language not readily found there. 2. If the statute's language or text is unclear or ambiguous the court uses canons of construction or…