Lenity, By Any Other Name

September 5, 2024

In Snyder v. United States, 144 S. Ct. 1947 (2024), in which the Supreme Court narrowly construed a federal anti-corruption statute, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion which explained the result on the basis of the “rule of lenity.”  Under that rule of statutory construction, ambiguous criminal statutes are interpreted in favor of defendants.  In their latest article for the NYLJ, “Lenity, By Any Other Name,” Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello partners Elkan Abramowitz and Jonathan S. Sack examine the rule of lenity as applied by the Supreme Court in the past, including its most recent term, and consider the impact that lenity may have in future efforts to resist expansive applications of federal criminal law.  

Lenity, By Any Other Name (pdf | 128.09 KB)