In re R.L.C.

I concur in the majority’s conclusion that the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the trial court’s adjudication of delinquency. I write separately, however, to emphasize that the statutory question, as framed by the majority and dissenting opinions, is resolved by application of the basic principle that we do not apply canons of statutory construction, including the doctrine of in pan materia, when the plain meaning of the statute is evident on its face.

It is axiomatic that “ ‘[w]here the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, there is no room for judicial construction and the…