Cite as: 513 U. S. 10 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
Finally, Shabani invokes the rule of lenity, arguing that the statute is unclear because it neither requires an overt act nor specifies that one is not necessary. The rule of lenity, however, applies only when, after consulting traditional canons of statutory construction, we are left with an ambiguous statute. See, e. g., Beecham v. United States, 511 U. S. 368, 374 (1994); Smith v. United States, 508 U. S. 223, 239-241 (1993). That is not the case here. To require that Congress explicitly state its intention not to adopt petitioner's reading would make the rule applicable with the "mere possibility of articulating a narrower construction," id., at 239, a result supported by neither lenity nor logic.
As the District Court correctly noted in this case, the plain language of the statute and settled interpretive principles reveal that proof of an overt act is not required to establish a violation of 21 U. S. C. § 846. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Reversed.
17
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Last modified: October 4, 2007