State v. Moler

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 123,077 STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. RICHARD I. MOLER II, Appellant. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. If a statute's language is ambiguous, the court may turn to canons of statutory construction, consult legislative history, or consider other background information to establish the statute's meaning. 2. When construing statutes, courts presume the Legislature does not intend to enact useless or meaningless legislation. 3. The rule of lenity is a canon of statutory construction applied when a criminal statute is ambiguous to construe the uncertain…