The entire U.S. legal system is based on a principle of "acting in good faith" and interpreting laws from the point of view of a "reasonable observer." If you c

The entire U.S. legal system is based on a principle of "acting in good faith" and interpreting laws from the point of view of a "reasonable observer." If you choose to ignore these two principles, every single sentence of every single law can be convoluted to have an enormous range of meanings. That's not what the law is about -- it's not just about the letter, it's also about the spirit. Sometimes judges and juries screw up -- maliciously, or otherwise. Most of the time they don't. It sucks, but it's the best system we've got. That's not to say that the legislators shouldn't try to make laws clear and unambiguous, but they have a lot on their plates and patching a hole in a 1986 legislation that doesn't seem to actually harm anyone isn't high on their priority list.