last antecedent rule

last antecedent rule n. a doctrine of interpretation (construction) of statutes that any qualifying words or phrases refer to the language immediately preceding the qualifier, unless common sense shows that it was meant to apply to something more distant or less obvious. Example: "The commercial vehicular license shall not apply to boats, tractors, and trucks, with only four wheels and under three tons..." then the qualifier "only four wheels and under three tons" applies only to trucks and not boats or tractors.