California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Guthrie, 144 Cal.App.3d 832, 193 Cal.Rptr. 54 (Cal. App. 1983):
7 This conclusion is fortified by the rule that "When an accused is charged with an offense defined in terms subject to two reasonable constructions, the construction favorable to the defendant is ordinarily adopted. This does not mean, however, that the language of the statute must be stretched and strained beyond the limitation of reason. [Citation.]" (People v. Malcolm (1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 217, 222, 120 Cal.Rptr. 667.) In the instant case, defendant acknowledges (indeed contends) that his interpretation of the phrase in question leads to an absurd result.
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