Golden rule of statutory interpretation preserves ordinary meaning but allows purposive departures to avoid absurdity.

The Golden Rule requires that statutory words be given their ordinary grammatical meaning prima facie, avoiding additions or substitutions that render words meaningless. Departure from that meaning is permissible only when the statutory context or object necessitates a different meaning to avoid injustice, absurdity, contradiction or frustration of the statute's purpose, and any purposive interpretation must be supported by the statute read as a whole or by admissible interpretive aids rather than judicial policy preferences.

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