Most Popular

1500 questions
21
votes
2 answers

Is mere accusation without evidence other than testimony of the accuser, grounds for arrest in the UK?

Several years ago I was stopped in public by the police. Someone had 'identified' me as abusing them in terms of their gender two years before that. Had that happened, I suppose it would have been classified as a hate crime. In fact, it was a case…
21
votes
4 answers

What are the limits of the Commerce Clause?

In Gonzalez v. Raich, the Supreme Court held that the Controlled Substances Act could apply to home-grown marijuana that started in and never left California because it could still affect the interstate marijuana market, and thus fell under the…
Ryan_L
  • 3,933
  • 2
  • 21
  • 36
21
votes
3 answers

Is attempted murder the same charge regardless of damage done?

Scenario 1: Bob points a gun at Joe's head, says "I'll kill you", pulls the trigger, and misses Joe by 1 inch. Joe is fine physically. Scenario 2: Bob points a gun at Joe's head, says "I'll kill you", pulls the trigger, and shoots him as intended.…
N00b101
  • 725
  • 5
  • 12
21
votes
9 answers

What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?

Inspired by the answer to a previous question I asked. Let's say Alice assaults Bob, and Bob goes to the police. I gather from the answer to the linked question that what happens in principle is that the police would investigate, and the local…
21
votes
1 answer

Does copyright law protect a translation of an ancient work from being translated into a third language?

Jurisdiction: California, USA. If a book was written in Greek two thousand years ago, and someone translated it into English more recently (say, yesterday), and then someone else wants to translate that English translation into French, would that be…
Aurast
  • 312
  • 2
  • 6
21
votes
3 answers

Pretending to be from the "Freedom to Breathe Agency": impersonating an officer?

There's a woman going around claiming to be from the federal "Freedom to Breathe Agency", telling store workers that they can personally be sued for telling customers that they need to wear a mask. Multiple people have said that she should be…
Matthew Cline
  • 1,319
  • 1
  • 10
  • 17
21
votes
3 answers

Is there a legal reason why fictional shows use imitation brand names?

Often, when I watch TV shows, I'll see or hear about an imitation of a real brand name. As an example, here is a parody of Walmart from The Simpsons The store in the picture is unambiguously supposed to represent Walmart. They're even using…
21
votes
4 answers

Is it legal for Americans to buy music/movies from those really cheap web sites based in Ukraine?

There are several web sites out there that sell MP3 music files for 10 cents each and FLAC music files for 30 cents each. At least one site even sells Hollywood movies (AVI, MKV) from $0.99 (low quality) to $2.99 (1080p). Most of these web sites…
pacoverflow
  • 749
  • 1
  • 6
  • 20
21
votes
4 answers

How do I collect on a judgement against a debtor who only deals in cash?

How do I collect on a judgement against a debtor who is all cash? They have no bank account and rent everything or pay other people for things. The only options I can see are: Follow them home from work EVERY DAY with a police officer to take…
user30113
  • 365
  • 2
  • 5
21
votes
2 answers

If police come to my house with a warrant for my arrest, can they break in?

Suppose police have a warrant to arrest me for a minor offense, like failure to pay fines. If police come to my residence and I quietly hide they go away. If they see me at the window or I speak with them through the locked exterior door will they…
Aaron Mac
  • 227
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
21
votes
2 answers

Is downloading copyrighted music for private use legal in Canada?

In 2003, the Copyright Board of Canada released this opinion. They held that downloading a music file for private use was okay, no matter the source: There is no requirement in Part VIII that the source copy be a non-infringing copy. Hence, it…
user248
21
votes
2 answers

What kinds of sanctions would be applied if you wrongly invoked the Fifth Amendment?

Under the Fifth Amendment, one might say at a hearing, "I refuse to answer on the grounds that it would incriminate me." Suppose the subject matter were embarrassing, but not necessarily criminal. Examples follow: I refuse to comment on an…
Libra
  • 6,592
  • 5
  • 27
  • 55
21
votes
3 answers

Are homeless people protected by antidiscrimination laws?

I was in a restaurant in New Jersey (USA) recently and witnessed the owners telling a (possibly) homeless person that he couldn't come inside because he smelled too bad. Is this legal? More generally, are restaurants and other stores allowed to…
WillG
  • 313
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
21
votes
3 answers

Can US Supreme Court justices / judges be "rotated" out against their will?

In last night's US Presidential Debate, candidate and US Senator Bernie Sanders asserted the option of being able to "rotate" Supreme Court judges / justices to other courts. As quoted in The Hill: "I do not believe in packing the court," Sanders…
21
votes
4 answers

UK - Working without a contract. I resign and guy wants to sue me

I am a foreigner from overseas I just arrived in UK 3 months ago. I have been working for a small startup in UK as CTO, my employer didn't want to give me an employment contract of any type, or founders agreement, he said he had given me so many…
EthicalGuy
  • 319
  • 2
  • 3