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M.D. v. State5/19/2004
P.2d 1348, 1350 (Haw. Ct. App. 1994). The Florida Supreme Court intended this meaning of the word "billy" when it wrote that the town marshal of Graceville "struck the deceased over the head with his `billy' before shooting him with a pistol." Teal v. State, 161 So. 422, 422 (Fla. 1935). While finding that a "policeman's nightstick or billy club" was clearly a "billy" within the meaning of the New York Penal Law, one court "strictly interpreted" the term "to mean a heavy wooden stick with a handle grip which, from its appearance, is designed to be used to strike an individual and not for other lawful purposes." People v. Talbert, 484 N.Y.S.2d 680, 682 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985).
The statutory rule of lenity supports such a narrow interpretation of the term "billy." The legislature has stated that criminal statutes "shall be strictly construed; when the language is susceptible of differing constructions, it shall be construed most favorably to the accused." § 775.021(1), Fla. Stat. (2001). The plain and ordinary meaning of "billie" does not include a small baseball bat, which could also be a souvenir from a professional baseball game or a children's toy. The bat is not designed to be used only to strike a person.
REVERSED.
WARNER and KLEIN, JJ., concur.
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