What is the test for determining the meaning of a statute?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Musaelian v. Adams, 198 P.3d 560, 45 Cal. 4th 512, 87 Cal.Rptr.3d 475 (Cal. 2009):

"When construing statutes, our goal is `"to ascertain the intent of the enacting legislative body so that we may adopt the construction that best effectuates the purpose of the law."'" (City of Santa Monica v. Gonzalez (2008) 43 Cal.4th 905, 919, 76 Cal.Rptr.3d 483, 182 P.3d 1027.) "We first examine the words of the statute, `giving them their ordinary and usual meaning and viewing them in their statutory context, because the statutory language is usually the most reliable indicator of legislative intent.'" (Ibid.)

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