Can a person be subjected to a penal sanction unless the statute or rule is clear and unambiguous about what punishment will be imposed if they engage in prohibited conduct?
MultiRegion, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Miranda v. Southern Pacific Transp. Co., 710 F.2d 516 (9th Cir. 1983):
Similarly, no person can be subjected to a penal sanction unless the statute or rule warns in clear and unambiguous terms that punishment will be imposed if he or she engages in prohibited conduct. See McBoyle v. United States, 283 U.S. 25, 51 S.Ct. 340, 75 L.Ed. 816 (1931) (fair warning should be given to world of what the law intends to do if a certain line is passed; to make the warning fair, so far as possible the law should be clear).
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