Cite as: 503 U. S. 291 (1992)
Syllabus
2. No ambiguity about the statute's intended scope survives the foregoing analysis, but, if any did, the construction yielding the shorter sentence would be chosen under the rule of lenity. That rule's application is unnecessary in this case, however, since this Court has "always reserved lenity for those situations in which a reasonable doubt persists about a statute's intended scope even after resort to 'the language and structure, legislative history, and motivating policies' of the statute." Moskal v. United States, 498 U. S. 103, 108 (citation omitted). Pp. 305-306.
Justice Scalia, joined by Justice Kennedy and Justice Thomas, concluded that it is not consistent with the rule of lenity to construe a textually ambiguous penal statute against a criminal defendant on the basis of legislative history. Once it is determined that the statutory text is ambiguous, the rule requires that the more lenient interpretation prevail. In approving reliance on a statute's "motivating policies," Moskal v. United States, 498 U. S. 103, 108, seems contrary to Hughey v. United States, 495 U. S. 411, 422. And insofar as Moskal requires consideration of legislative history at all, it compromises the purposes of the lenity rule: to assure that criminal statutes provide fair warning of what conduct is rendered illegal, see, e. g., McBoyle v. United States, 283 U. S. 25, 27, and to assure that society, through its representatives, has genuinely called for the punishment to be meted out, see, e. g., United States v. Bass, 404 U. S. 336, 348. While the Court has considered legislative history in construing criminal statutes before, it appears that only one case, Dixson v. United States, 465 U. S. 482, has relied on legislative history to "clarify" an ambiguous statute against a criminal defendant's interest. Dixson does not discuss the implications of its decision, and both of the cases it cites in supposed support of its holding found the statute at hand not to be facially ambiguous. Pp. 307-311.
Justice Thomas agreed with Justice Scalia that the use of legislative history to construe an otherwise ambiguous penal statute against a criminal defendant is difficult to reconcile with the rule of lenity. The rule operates, however, only if ambiguity remains even after a court has applied established principles of construction to the statutory text. See, e. g., Chapman v. United States, 500 U. S. 453, 463. Although knowledge of these principles is imputed to the citizenry, there appears scant justification for also requiring knowledge of extralegal materials such as legislative history. Pp. 311-312.
Souter, J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II-A, and III, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and White, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas, JJ., joined, and an opinion with respect to Parts II-B and II-C, in which
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