§ 407 Words, how construed.

When prosecutors write up criminal charges, the words they use are read the way regular people would normally understand them. Courts do not look for hidden or unusual meanings behind everyday language.

But there's an exception. If a word or phrase already has a specific legal definition, that legal meaning applies instead of the everyday meaning. So if a term has been defined by law, the court uses that legal definition when reading the charges, not just the common sense of the word.

This rule matters because it helps make sure charging documents are read fairly and consistently. It stops people from arguing that ordinary words in an indictment mean something strange or technical when they were only meant in their normal, everyday sense.