Mystical Legal Words
There is one word included in laws that presents more problems than any other. That word is “reasonable.” In law, the word “reasonable” is used a lot. “Reasonable” action under the law is permitted. “Unreasonable” action is not. A “reasonable” failure to act is permitted. An “unreasonable” failure to act is not permitted. What is “reasonable” changes from circumstance to circumstance. For purposes of this blog, the word “reasonable” refers to what a normal, average person would or would not do under the circumstances.
Another important point in reviewing laws involves the difference between “and” and “or.” These two very small words make a huge difference in the interpretation of laws. Laws which prohibit certain actions (which may be crimes leading to imprisonment or fines or both) require sub-parts of the law (known as elements) to be proved before there is a conviction. Those elements are usually not identified in the law as separate paragraphs, and they are frequently in a single, long sentence which must be read repeatedly in order to understand its meaning. Some of those separate elements are separated by the word “and”; other elements are separated by the word “or.” If two elements are separated by the word “and,” that means that both of those elements must be proved for there to be a conviction of the person accused of violating that law. If two elements are separated by the word “or,” that means that only one of the two elements needs to be proved for a successful conviction.
This difference is important because much of this blog includes discussion of criminal laws involving animals. Those laws include elements which are joined by the words “and” or “or.” Therefore, careful attention must be paid when reading laws which include these two little words.
Attention must also be paid to the words “shall” and “may.” If a law states that a person “shall” do something, that action must be done. There are no exceptions (unless the law specifically provides for exceptions). If a law states that a person “may” do something, it is up to that person’s discretion as to whether some action should be taken.
Finally, laws sometimes include words in a string of words which all seem to have the same meaning. In many instances, the words – although similar – have special meanings from a technical standpoint. In other instances, the legislature which passed the law was simply full of itself and liked wordy laws. In this blog, the author has frequently reduced strings of words to a single word so that the law itself is easier to understand.
The author of this blog has kept these interpretation principles in mind and has attempted to remain as loyal as possible to the original content of a law in making that law more comprehensible. However, please remember, this blog is not providing legal advice. It is an attempt to make laws written by lawyers understandable to non-lawyers. If you or anyone else have a specific question regarding the meaning of the law and its potential violation, please contact a lawyer to address your specific concerns.