Opinion ID: 1819622
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Our Customary Interpretive Approach

Text: Our customary approach to statutory interpretation views legislative intent as the polestar that guides a court's statutory construction analysis. State v. J.M., 824 So.2d 105, 109 (Fla.2002). The search for legislative intent starts with the actual language of the statute. See Joshua v. City of Gainesville, 768 So.2d 432, 435 (Fla. 2000). If the statutory language is clear, the plain textual meaning indicates the legislative intent. See Cherry v. State, 959 So.2d 702, 713 (Fla.2007). However, if the statutory language is unclear, we continue our search for legislative intent. See Joshua, 768 So.2d at 435. In discerning the legislative intent of an unclear statute, we consider the statute as a whole, including the evil to be corrected, the language, title, and history of its enactment, and the state of law already in existence on the statute.  State v. Anderson, 764 So.2d 848, 849 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (citing McKibben v. Mallory, 293 So.2d 48, 52 (Fla.1974)) (emphasis added). In a criminal case, if our legislative intent analysis fails to reveal a single, clear, and unambiguous meaning, the rule of lenity applies, and we must adopt a reasonable construction most favorable to the accused. See Clines v. State, 912 So.2d 550, 560 (Fla.2005). However, as the majority recognizes, the rule of lenity is a canon of last resort. It applies only if we have completed our customary legislative intent exploration and are still left without a clear understanding of the Legislature's intent. See State v. Rubio, 967 So.2d 768, 778 n. 9 (Fla.2007) (citing Bautista v. State, 863 So.2d at 1180, 1188 n. 9 (Fla. 2003)) (rule of lenity does not apply before a court engages in a search of legislative intent using traditional tools).