This is the best statement of the problem. A lot of folks on this thread are importing the idea from computers or math that there is a _right answer_ to expres

This is the best statement of the problem. A lot of folks on this thread are importing the idea from computers or math that there is a _right answer_ to expressing laws in written language. But this point of view ignores the vast diversity of human experience and variability that has to be governed using a few words. It is not the case that every possible edge and corner case can be anticipated ahead of time, and this would, in any event defeat the purpose of trying to make the law more clear. Maybe laws can be written more clearly or more succinctly in some cases, but the specific words, phrases, grammar, etc. chosen matter quite a lot in a common law jurisdiction. “The prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law.” ― Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., The Path of the Law