texts: Is it possible for me to break a lease that is co-signed if my health suffers from staying at the apartment?

texts:
Problem Overview

I live in an apartment in Georgia and the tenant above me is smoking a lot of marijuana every day and has been doing so for the last three months. While inside the apartment, I continuously experience health issues because I seem to be more sensitive to the fumes than the average person. This evening, for example, my resting heart rate within the apartment has been consistently hovering over 100. I suffer under the symptoms even when the fumes are very weak and barely noticeable.  The fumes are entering my apartment through the HVAC system even when the system is turned off, my windows are open, and two air purifiers are on. I spend virtually every day in my apartment for almost the entire day.

Steps Taken and the Current Stage

I'm 33% through my 12-month-lease that I signed with my roommate and my roommate refuses to break the lease even if I pay for the termination fees. Upon complaining to the smoker, the smoker denies everything. However, the fumes could be smelled from his windows when he used to have them open while smoking. Ever since I complained, the smoker has been shutting his windows.  My roommate and I have complained to the management company in writing but it seems that they are afraid to do anything, possibly because of potential legal repercussions from the smoker. I have called the police twice, but they arrived 30-60 minutes after the smoking occurred and the smell had already faded.

Data

When the smoking occurs, I also notice several red bars appear on my air purifier air quality indicator. Many samples of my resting heart rate with a sensor reveal that it is 65-75bpm when outside the apartment and 80-110bpm when inside the apartment. My roommate smells the marijuana fumes too, but is not as sensitive to the fumes as I am and only experiences a subset of my above symptoms at a much milder level. The tenant above the smoker also notices the fumes, but only barely.

Questions

Is it possible for me to break the lease?

Is it possible for me to sublease, even if my roommate disagrees with every person I choose for the sublease? (postponed for another question)

What is the recommended action for me at this stage?


texts: Do pro bono lawyers have to file that they represent a client to claim attorney client privilege?

texts:
I was watching an exchange between Chris Cuomo and Rep. Matt Gaetz about the relationship between President Trump and his personal attorney Mayor Giuliani.
In it Chris said:

The great theory here is, that it's one thing to ask a congressman to go and do something, we don't know if this man is the president's lawyer, if he was a proxy for the State Department or he was just acting as a concerned citizen.
But it really matters which answer is correct because if he wasn't acting as the president's personal lawyer, and we don't really know that that's true because I don't know how he was getting paid. And if it was pro bono, did he file it as such? Because we can't find any record of it. Did the president report it as such, because we don't find any record of that.

Then, Rep. Gaetz replies:

There's no obligate Chris, that's a red herring. It doesn't matter whether he is getting paid or not. What matters is whether Giuliani was acting in the interests of

And then Chis cut him off to say:

It does if you want privilege

This followed by some more back and forth, but I think the premise of the question is clear.

My question actually is to what extent a pro bono attorney client relationship has to be declared before privilege can apply.
On the one hand it seems reasonable to me that there has to be some declaration, otherwise every conversation with someone who is also a lawyer can later be claimed to be privileged (if it suits those involved). On the other hand, there may be conversations early on in the attorney client relationship before it is formally declared that should(?) also be privileged.
So, are there any rules governing when privilege applies in those pro bono cases? For this question, I'm specifically asking about the US.


texts: Is it enough to attribute CC licensed media through a URL only?

texts:
I have made some videos for computer education.

I might be sale it in future...

I have used images which comes under
creative commons and from pixbay license.

I want to know is that compulsory to give credits for that images in my video.

Right now I  have shown the URL's at the end of video, from where I have downloaded these images.

Is that ok to put the URLS ?


texts: Has a common law defence ever held water?

texts:
The UK is a common law country. It is a widely held belief of many people that statute Acts of parliament (i.e. most 'laws') only apply with the "consent of the governed"; and that one may be a "free man of the land" or a "Scottish Sovereign".

They assert that only common law applies to them, i.e. laws surrounding assault, threat or theft. Statutes such as the Road Traffic Act are seen as enacted by the private corporation of 'parliament'; and since they don't consent to being governed, these 'laws' don't apply to them, e.g. speeding.

Going one step further, free men and other groups of people state they have a right to travel under the Magna Carta, and since Blacks Law defines 'driving' as doing so commercially; they're entitled to drive ("travel") non-commercially without insurance.

Has such a defence ever held in court? If you look on YouTube you'll find plenty of people who believe it will.


texts: What legal protections does one have against being blackmailed for sex?

texts:
Suppose a woman, Alice, contacts a man, Bob, about the possibility of his being a sperm donor for her.  They reach an agreement for him to provide sperm without sexual intercourse.

Bob then demands that she have intercourse with him for the sperm donation.  Alice demurs.  Then Bob threatens to publicize the fact that she is looking for a sperm donor if she does not have intercourse with him.  What laws has Bob broken in making this threat, and what crimes could apply to his actions if he makes good on his threat?


texts: Can a customer claim background IP rights?

texts:
A company has sent me a contract with the following clauses.

Does the following means that they can claim the IP on software I've created on the past, and make use of it? - even in the case we cease the agreement

  4. Intellectual property

  Developer transfers ownership of the intellectual property rights in the New IP to Customer, with the exception of any Background IP.
  Developer grants a licence to Customer to the Background IP as described in the table below.

----------------------------------------------------
| licence condition | value                        |
----------------------------------------------------
| Parties           | Developer grants to Customer |
| Type              | expansive licence            |
----------------------------------------------------

Expansive license description

Background IP: Background IP means the intellectual property rights owned by Developer:

prior to the application of the Agreement; or
created by Developer outside the scope of the Agreement.


texts: Can males be held liable for child support for wife's child?

texts:
Lets say a single male living in California were to get married to a woman who has an existing one year old child from her previous marriage.

If in the future they were to get divorced, how much of a chance is there that he could be held liable for child support of that child?


texts:
With Creative Commons, imagine that I have a Blender (3D animation) file where in combination with the Blender program, people can freely create their own modification of my animation located inside the Blender file and export a video of the animation using the Blender Program onto their computer.

I plan to add a Creative Commons license to this but I'm having trouble to choose which one. My aim is for people to use the exported video and post it on youtube safely, allowing them to use ad revenue. However, I do not want them to use the content by selling my blender file, even if they modified it (because it's free in the first place). I also do not want to sell the videos exported from that blender file (because it's a free product of a free software and a free file). What should I do?


texts: Who is responsible for getting the tree removed?

texts: A big storm passed through our area and a bunch of trees fell. This one tree is kind of in a weird situation. The tree is technically on my neighbors property and it fell towards our house. However, the tree didn't completely fall and is being held up by another tree. If the other tree fails to hold it up, the main tree will hit our house. Who is responsible for removing the tree and would the removal be covered under insurance?


texts: Is my claim valid to consider me as a refugee?

texts:
I will enter Canada as a refugee and at the point of entry I'll file for asylum. I have basis for my claim, although I'm sure my claim will be considered seriously as there are many reports mentioned by independent organizations regarding serious human rights violation in my country. However, I need to describe my claim in details to see what you think of my claim legally:

I'll file for asylum based on:

1) Religion

I embraced a different religion than my society which damaged my relationship with it. I face discrimination that's really unbearable. Seeking protection from the government isn't a choice as I describe in the second point below that relates to political opinion. The discrimination that I face isn't limited to the social life, but also legally. Local courts won't recognize my religion in order to process marriage documents for example as I have to undergo religious rituals, there's no civil marriage for citizens. In addition to all of that, I have been always looked at as being unwanted in my society and I found it hard to integrate and swallow their religious practices. So far I didn't receive any sort of death threat other than minor offences (insults and humiliation). The issue relates to the strong religious ties of my society, even children are forced to memorize religious mottos, in other words (indoctrinated).

2) Poilitical opinion

In my country there's a political mayhem going on. Because of my family I'm considered to be the same as their religion. The government has a well-documented history of human right abuses towards our social group, this includes torture, discrimination in jobs, unfair trials and so on. All of that is well documented by independent human right organizations that are recognized internationally like Amnesty International for instance. Of course, naturally I'm counted as a member of this social group and thus what the government is doing to them applies to me as well. Seeking protection from the government will be a funny thing to say based on what I witnessed with my own eyes and the documents that include videos and pictures of how police treat people with extreme violence. I have members in my family jailed and torture in prisons based on their peaceful political opinions.

Going to the legal questions:

1) According to the Canadian immigration law, is my claim for asylum valid?

2) Does the Canadian law grants the refugee claimant the right to access a lawyer during the hearing procedure if the claimant financially unable to afford it?

3) Some of the facts are available publicly and can be proven very easily by (news, reports, videos,...), others are personal. How to prove personal claims legally?


texts:
I recieved a jury summons a little while ago. This summons contained information on where to go as well as some paperwork to bring in. The summons was accidentally thrown out by the cleaning service.

What should I do now?


texts: Can I request a copy of my personal data (GDPR) from email-scammers and sue them if they don't comply?

texts:
So, I've been receiving a lot of spammails recently and I'm pretty fed up with them.
I've also been wondering, how they got access to my mail-address, so I sent a request of information so I can see, what data they store about me, where they got it from and whom they sent it to.
Could I sue the company behind the scam, if they don't comply the GDPR?
(Please excuse the bad English, I'm not a native speaker)


texts: Which regions trademark has precedence in Google Play and Apple's app store?

texts:
If two different entities have registered the same trademark in different regions, one in the USA and the other in EU. Which of the two trademarks would have precedence within the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store? How is something like this settled?

(Both apps being distributed globally with trademarked app-names)

I'm trying to figure out if it is enough to get a trademark in the US because Google might enforce the trademark throughout the entire store. Or if it is necessary to get the trademark in every country the app is distributed.


texts: Can I purchase my parents home over time as a way to free up some cash for them

texts: As my parents get older, their savings are dwindling, and SS is not enough money to keep bills at bay. They have the equity of their home, though. Rather than taking out a reverse mortgage, I'm wondering how I could give them some of my income over time, like to slowly purchase the house from them. Is there a way that I can purchase the home over time, with it still remaining in their possession? How would someone structure this legally, and how does this effect a will situation.


texts:
Background:
I have an idea how to improve a service offered by multiple companies but was wondering what’s to stop a company from turning me down and taking my idea for themselves. I would like to take measures to safeguard my idea so that I could go to another company if I am turned down or even pitching it to more than one company and see what kind of offers I get before making my decision.

Questions:
Would a non-disclosure agreement fully protect my interest?  Are there any limitations or risks I should be aware of prior to entering a non-disclosure agreement?  What else can be done to protect myself before I proceed with contacting a company?

Jurisdiction: Albuquerque NM, United States


texts: Could parents sue a school district to force them to improve their teaching methods?

texts:
Is it possible for parents of public school students to successfully sue School District to demand certain improvements in online education?
It seems that some school districts abuse their monopoly and use Covid-induced online education to drastically reduce the number of hours they teach, including "self-study" days with no instruction whatsoever. Town halls with district superintendent and board is useless: the parents' comments that must be submitted in writing are sometimes ignored and sometimes answered with provable misinformation.
Could a class action against a school district succeed? An action aimed at forcing the school district to either improve substantially the quality of education or to compensate parents forced to enroll their kids into private schools? If this is a no-go, what other means are possible to influence the school district?


texts: Who is legally responsible for malware delivered through an ad on a website, the website or the ad network?

texts:
Forbes recently started to block people who use an adblocker from accessing their website. The irony is that only a couple of days later, the ad network they use started spreading malware, ransomware to be exact, through the ads.

Suppose a Forbes user gets ransomware because of malicious ads on the Forbes website and loses important data (or at least valuable time while restoring the backup).

Who is responsible for the malware infection?

Forbes, because they're the website the user visited?
The ad network that provided a vector for infection and didn't properly check their content?
Or the makers of the ad, because they made the ad with malicious intent?

Can the user sue the responsible party for damages?
Does it make a difference whether the user has taken due diligence with software updates and patches?

The main jurisdictions I wonder about are Belgium and the USA.


texts: What instrument protects contractual interest in a real property purchase?

texts:
Jurisdiction: U.S., California

Hypothetical Facts:

A (buyer) and B (seller) sign a purchase and sale agreement for real property, R.
After the contract is signed, but before the contract settles and title is transferred, B sells (and transfers title to) R to third party, C.

Questions:

Is there any instrument A could have filed and recorded (e.g., a-la Lis Pendens) to protect A's contractual interest in R?
If so, what is the name of that instrument?


texts: Can the US Senate be abolished without unanimous consent of the States?

texts:
Article V of the US Constitution states, in part:

and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

It has been suggested elsewhere that abolishing the Senate, or otherwise reducing its power, would not violate this clause because it would not affect one State at the expense of another.
In my mind, however, if the intent of the Senate is to give each State equal power with the others, then any reduction in the power of the Senate would, de facto, deprive that State of its equal suffrage. Therefore, moving to a unicameral legislature (for example) would require the unanimous consent of the States.
I would love to get a more informed perspective, though.


texts: EU privacy and data protection law for small WhatsApp group

texts: We have created a small WhatsApp group to feed poor people and street children who are Covid affected in India. We are people from the EU, US, Australia and even from India. Members want transparency for donations. My question is, can contributions and names of EU donors be shown in the group?


texts: In a three-party exchange, can one plaintiff represent both plaintiffs against a defendant, in small claims court?

texts:
As a follow-up to https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/917/can-texas-landlords-charge-administrative-fee-twice-thrice, suppose there's a high chance that a court would accept that it was NOT reasonable for a landlord to have had effectively charged the administrative fee 3 times in total for a lease that has been re-assigned only once.

Let's assume that the administrative fees were nonetheless paid, practically by their respective parties overall (departing resident -- 200$ adm + 200$ relet, incoming -- 50$ app + 200$ adm fee, upon application to the landlord).

Let's also assume that the departing resident reduced the effective rent of the sublease to ensure a relet, and such discount in addition also included covering all the fees associated with a relet ("I'll pay all your fees, if you're approved").  Let's also assume that for practical purposes, they're obviously not actually refunded, but rather given as an extra discount on first month's rent.

Who would have the right to recover this extra administrative fee paid by the incoming resident that likely goes in violation of the terms specified in original lease contract of the departing resident with the landlord?

Is it at all an option for the incoming resident to agree with the departing resident to demand such fee be returned from landlord to the incoming resident, and perhaps shared between the two?

Would the departing resident actually have to give any sort of permission here?

Would the departing resident have to testify, in small claims court, to their understanding of the contract, or would it be sufficient to simply present their contract to the court, and argue how a reasonable person would have had understood it?
What would the demand letter have to say, in other words, return 200$ to whom?  (I assume directly asking the landlord to split 200$ into two returns, for each resident, would be too much of a burden, so, it would have to be returned to a single one.)
Can the incoming resident represent the departing resident in small claims court in Texas, without having formal legal training nor bar admittance?


texts: Is including the text of an email in a document attached to the same email indicative of litigious intent?

texts:
I began having conversations with a consulting firm which approached me with an offer of services. I liked the presentation and expressed willingness to look over the agreement and consider the offer. After a short time I decided it wasn't a good fit, and expressed that to the consulting firm, at which point I noticed some poignant changes in their communications with me.

Language in their emails went from what I'll call "business casual" to a more carefully worded tone, with word choices that left room for ambiguity when making statements, but demanded absolute answer when asking questions.

Appearance of what I'll call "threats by reticence" in verbal dialogue, where scenarios would be presented describing negative outcomes to our negotiations that weren't overtly threatening, but deliberately ended with phrases like "we'll see..." or "doesn't look good..."

And the main hint in this interaction: the consulting firm began including the same text content that was contained in the email as a signed pdf on their firm's letterhead, attached to the email. My suspicion is that this is an attempt to construct a narrative for litigation purposes, creating a paper trail outside of their company email account so that they can limit what they'd have to disclose in the discovery phase.

I don't have a lawyer, I can't afford one right now, and don't feel threatened enough to need one.
But I am curious if my intuition is right.
I will accept "stop watching legal drama" as a valid answer.


texts: Could one be found guilty of a crime because he can't prevent cloud computer from being hosted in region where action is illegal?

texts:
Here is the real question which inspired my last: Does legality of an computerized action depend on user location or computer location?

Someone can be found guilty of crime legal in their home state if they use a computer located in another jurisdiction where the action is illegal to perform the action.  However, with cloud computing a user may not be aware of where his computer is located, it may even 'move' to another country transparently; possible even as he is using it.  Usually you have a good idea of where you computer likely is, but nothing is gaurenteed.

So lets imagine someone in the US who has purchased a virtual machine from amazon.  This machine is physically hosted on a computer somewhere in the world, but the user doesn't know where that physical computer is.  If the physical computer he is using dies for some reason his virtual machine may move to another computer located in a different physical location transparently without his being aware of more then a short system 'hiccup', likewise if he gets more customers to his service a new computer may start up in some other part of the world to support his customers, then kill itself later once demand lowers and it isn't needed.  The point being he has no way of knowing where his computer is located or if it will move to another location when he purchases amazon's services.

Lets say that he is doing something with this virtual machine (or machines) that is legal in some states, but not in others.  Maybe he has a marijuana home delivery service where some states allow selling marijuana and others don't (bad example, since marijuana is still illegal federally, but you get my point, different states have different laws).  There is a good chance (but not gaurentee) that his VM from amazon is hosted somewhere within the US, but rather or not it's in a state that would find his action illegal is impossible to know or control.

I'm wondering rather he could be found guilty if amazon automatically moves his VM to a state where his action is illegal despite his home state being legal, without his having any way to prevent amazon from moving him to a state where the action could be illegal.

I know in reality no one would likely pay enough attention to realize his VM moved to somewhere where his action is illegal, and no prosecute would likely prosecute him for such a thing; but I'm talking about letter of the law, assuming a prosecute is aware of the computer location and for whatever reason chooses to prosecute.

Would our theoretical user have any legal defense he could use in this situation to be found innocent?

If it matters you could replace my example, of moving between states, with someone from Cuba buying a VM to discover it's in the US; if federal vs state laws actually matter.  I'm assuming our unfortunate criminal happens to travel to the location the VM is located in at some point and thus can be arrested without extradition.


texts:
In Massachusetts, penalties are established for "assault" upon a person, but apparently there is no definition of "assault". So, what constitutes an assault could apparently be open to interpretation. For example, if a robber attacks a person and the victim injures the robber, we could envision the prosecutors indicting the robber's target because the robber being the one injured, would mean that the victim could be prosecuted for a higher charge.

In other words, why would a prosecutor charge a low class robber for simple assault, when they could charge the victim for assault and batter, or mayhem, much more serious charges? Or, imagine that the victim kills the robber. Now, the prosecutor cannot even charge robber, because he is dead, so what will the prosecutor do? Charge the victim for manslaughter of course, or even second degree murder!

The whole root of the problem seems to be that there is no legal definition of assault, at least that I could find, essentially allowing the prosecutor to invent whatever definition of assault he likes. Is there anything to prevent this?


texts: Is 18 USC §911 (false claim to US citizenship) still considered constitutional?

texts:
This statute reads:

  Whoever falsely and willfully represents himself to be a citizen of the United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

There is no restriction on whom or for what purpose the misrepresentation is made. For example, the following situation might occur: an American is considering whether to buy a house, so they talk to their prospective neighbours to ascertain the character of the neighbourhood. One of them claims to have born in Kansas and lived in the US for their entire life. After the American moves in, they discover that their neighbour lied and was an alien all along. The alien is convicted under 18 USC §911.

The federal courts upheld a conviction under the predecessor of this statute in United States v. Achtner, 144 F.2d 49 (1944) and upheld the constitutionality of the same statute in United States v. Tandaric, 152 F.2d 3 (1945).

However, in the decades since WWII, the Supreme Court has greatly expanded the scope of First Amendment free speech protections, so one might wonder whether the conviction in the hypothetical situation described above would still be held constitutional.


texts: Does charging a defendant with more than can be proven confer some advantages to a prosecutor in the US?

texts:
Sometimes in criminal cases with a lot of media attention it seems like the charges brought against the defendant are much more ambitious than the public evidence and circumstance would support. Of course it is always possible that there is non-public evidence that would merit more serious charges, but it seems too common for that to be the reason all of the time.
Is it advantageous for the prosecutor to charge more than they know they can prove in criminal cases? If it is, what benefits (other than political “tough on crime” stuff) does it offer? I assume it offers more leverage and room to negotiate in plea deal bargaining and when the overcharging is "horizontal" it also allows more opportunities to win the case. Are there benefits beyond that based on how the legal system works?
Are there any mechanisms that discourage overcharging a defendant in a case where media attention might be incentivizing more sensational charges?
I did search a bit, but most of the things I found were defense attorneys discussing the abusiveness of overcharging. I was hoping to find out if there was more nuance to it. I have a feeling that "overcharging" is a loaded term, but I don't know a word for "charging a little bit more than you can prove for good reason".


texts:
Where I live, the law requires employers to pay overtime if more than 8 hours of work are in a shift. Some employers get around this and I'm wondering how? Their contract just states "there is no over time pay for this job". Is this technically illegal? I know temp agencies do this. Also I've heard paying only commission with no base pay is illegal but they still have job contracts for it.

I'm guessing employers get around this with some technicality as to the relationship, but according to this it's not clearly defined if a relationship is employee-employer or contractor.


texts:
How is an area deemed unsafe and needing to be cordoned off?

Would it be the person at the top of the law enforcement agency (police chief or sheriff) who would make the decision that a particular area is unsafe and needs to be cordoned off with police tape, would it be the elected official at the top (mayor, town supervisor, county administrator), or a judge or magistrate?

What I'm imagining is that after the police tape is put up, and personnel is stationed at the tape to explain to people, if needed, that anyone crossing the tape will be subject to arrest.


texts: UK - Does an employer need to complete a right to work check for a volunteer?

texts:
In the UK, does an employer need to perform a right to work check on volunteers?

Every year, NHS doctors and nurses volunteer to assist. I believe it is volunteering, not voluntary work (they don't get paid or have obligations) most of these professionals do about 3 days a year. Sometimes they get paid expenses (e.g. on-site parking charge) but most don't.

Can anyone point me to the location where I can see this or relevant section of the law? The employer right-to-work check guide and volunteering page on gov.uk seems to be missing this information.

Thanks!


texts: What is the minimum information required to specify a person in a will?

texts:
If person A wants to leave assets to person B in their will, what is the minimum amount of information for person B that person A needs to specify?

Obviously, they need their name... but is anything else required?

Do they need their:

Mailing address?
Physical address?
Telephone number?
Birthdate?
Birthplace?
Social Security Number?
Spouse's name?

I'm sure more information is better, but I'm interested in learning the minimum required.


texts: Can I be arrested in US consulate for a warrant in the states?

texts:
A few years ago I came to Mexico to stay for a while. While I was here I was summoned for court in Arizona, but never appeared (because I'm in Mexico). A warrant was issued for my arrest a few months later.

2 years ago my passport expired so I went to the US consulate to renew it. Instead of getting my passport in the mail i received an email stating that I need to show up for an interview.

My question is, can I be arrested at the consulate and be taken to Arizona? I'd like to be informed before I go so I know what to do with my family.


texts: Client asks me to re-brand supplied media

texts:
As a backend web developer in UK, I do some frontend work on a side.

A client of mine sent me a brochure of another company and more or less asked me to place his logos over that company's logos, or to replace the logos wholly, on said brochure.

That triggered all the proper alarms in my head.

In my understanding:

I have no copyright information on the brochure, or about it
I have my client's wish to "replace their logos with his"
I fear I'd help him to steal a presumably copyrighted media
I am potentially liable

Questions: Do I need my client to state he has the permission to modify that piece of media, and to ask me openly to do so?
Or, do I need him to produce the evidence that he has such permissions?

To keep myself liability-free, what piece of information must I receive in writing, in such or similar case?

EDIT:

I don't know who made them originally so I don't even know who to ask.
The brochures allegedly rotate around and get rebranded like that, and I don't know where they originated from.

All I know about them comes from my client directly.

The only party is my client, and IP lawyers assured me I can get him to indemnify me and when at risk of getting sued I can produce the signed indemnification and shift the blame to the client, without getting sued myself, which especially can be enforced when allegedly copyrighted work had no noticed on it whatsoever.


texts: If a super powerful smelling device existed and could detect marijuana from miles away, would it be illegal for police to use it for that purpose?

texts: If a device that was capable of smelling marijuana from miles away existed and was very accurate (could identify houses where the smell was coming from), would police legally be able to use it for the detection of marijuana in a neighborhood?


texts: Copyright issue of the interface of Windows Notepad

texts:
I'm developing Windows application. It is crypto-functioning notepad.

And its design(UI interface) is almost(approx 90%?) same with Microsoft Windows Notepad.

Differences are only some buttons and sub-windows for encryption and decryption.

I would like to distribute my program for non-commercial. In this case, can I use its UI interface legally?


texts: Are bicycle companies obligated to not sell products that will be used unsafely?

texts:
The question may need to be reworded to be more concise, relevant, or appropriate. Edit as you wish.
I recently saw an article about a man who wanted to purchase a bicycle, but he weighed more than its maximum safe weight rating. The shop originally refused to sell it to him until he signed a waiver declaring that he wouldn't ride the bike until he lost enough weight to be under the limit, but this decision was soon reversed after internal policy changes, media attention, and widespread public outcry.
Was the store in the right here to try to refuse the sale? This could be extended towards other scenarios, such as:

a customer who wants to buy a lightweight, fragile hardtail bike but has expressed interest in riding massive jumps and drops, risking frame breakage, or
someone wanting to buy uber-lightweight but relatively weak cross-country handlebars for similar aggressive usage that those bars aren't designed for.

If the customer refuses to acknowledge the risk of the bike or components thereof failing, should the store still sell it to them? These risks could carry into the greater public too, so it's not just a question of personal choice. For example, if he hits a moderately sized pothole but his wheel fails due to the excessive weight, he could strike and injure a bystander during the crash.

Link to relevant article: https://globalnews.ca/news/7692614/giant-bicycles-canada-apologizes-to-halifax-man-who-was-refused-bike-because-of-his-weight/
Key text in case of link rot:

When Global News published a story March 10 detailing the roadblock Sebastien Barsetti encountered when picking up a Giant bicycle he ordered online, Devantier [marketing surpervisor] said he sought the advice of the company’s lawyer.
“His advice was definitely that human rights kind of trump consumer safety,” Devantier said.

Misener [owner of store] also spoke with Global News on March 10 and said his main concern was for Barsetti’s safety. He also wanted to ensure that he wouldn’t be liable for any bicycle malfunctions, or injuries that Barsetti may encounter as a result of currently weighing more than the design limit.

On March 11, that position changed.
Giant Group Canada publicly apologized to Barsetti after having discussions with him throughout the day and are now compensating him with a bicycle and extra gear, including a helmet.

Devantier said there are about 200 Giant Bicycle distributors across Canada and they are being told that if situations like this occur again, they just need to make a note on the purchase order that safety discussions were had but sale refusal unless a waiver is signed won’t be necessary.


texts: Can you download data from satellites which are no longer in use?

texts:
I thought about doing a small educational project to test my skills in communication systems engineering and I saw plenty of videos from people accessing and downloading data from satellites which are no longer in use.

The only regulations I know are those regulating antenna size and the permission to transmit data at a radio frequency (to not interfere with other objects).

But, Is there any law inside or outside USA where it is illegal to do that?
that I must know before doing anything illegal without knowledge of it?

I've searched on the internet and found nothing.

I live in Spain.


texts: Drug dealer & criminal signed the lease agreement

texts:
Say someone signs a lease with someone else. For clarity the drug dealers name will be Mike and other persons name will be Steve.  Now Mike begins to drug deal and do drugs inside the house along with breaking a bunch of other laws. Steve sees this for a while and does nothing. Until one day Mike steals something from Steve. Now Steve would like to see Mike arrested and jailed for drug dealing, possession of drugs, and crimes he has confessed to Steve. Evidence would be in Mike's room and Text messages that Mike has on his phone would confirm the truth about the crimes he has confessed to.

If Steve were to call the police (and he is on the lease) could he have them walk in to the house and go into Mike's room to find the evidence of these crimes (without Mike's Permission) and arrest him on the spot? Also Mike would have no criminal record in this hypothetical scenario.


texts: How do they decide if a contract is violated bad enough then it's all invalid?

texts:
My understanding is that a material noncompliance means that a party has breached the agreement so severely, the agreement no longer holds, and the other party can sue for damages.

Who decides if a breach is material or non-material? Should a contract state in itself which provisions not being followed count as a material breach, and which don't? If this were the case why wouldn't the contract writer just include everything as a material breach, just because no one would sign that?

This is a follow up to this question, when is it necessary to include in a contract that the provisions will be enforced to the extent permissible by law. For example where I live a landlord can't charge more than $50 for late payments or bounced checks. But if an addendum says a fee of $75 for bounced cheques will be charged, and it doesn't contain "this will be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law" then this would be an invalid clause but I don't think it would invalidate the entire agreement?


texts: Is advertising a product as "Chemical Free" false/misleading advertising?

texts:
Many products, often times foods or cleaning supplies use the phrase "Chemical Free" in their advertising and packaging. This is often used in products containing more naturally derived ingredients, and is directed towards consumers who may conflate "chemicals" with being "un-natural" or harmful.
The problem is that literally everything made out of matter is a chemical. The advertising may as well say "Matter Free".
Since there is no agreed-upon colloquial definition of "chemicals" in this sense, and the advertisement essentially relies on the consumer's unawareness, would this practice fall under the category of false advertising?


texts: Can a parliamentary government dissolve itself?

texts:
The United States has a constitution with a separation of powers keeping it from becoming a dictatorship.

What about countries with a single-housed parliment without a constitution (such as Israel[1])?

If a party would win 61% of the parliament, can they just legally cancel the next election?

[1]: Even though Israel has "basic laws", they are legally the same as all other laws and don't require a "super-majority" or anything like that. And even if it did, the US has a much harder time amending the constitution.


texts: Are State-Authorized Century Farm Programs Titles of Nobility?

texts:
Both the Federal and State governments are prohibited from granting "titles of nobility" under the US Constitution (Art. 1, Sec. 9 & 10).

My understanding is that "titles of nobility" are commonly read to mean, titles (ie, special names) that are:
-- inheritable
-- tied to the land
-- confer legal privileges
-- granted by the executive authority of the relevant sovereign

My understanding of the "century farm" programs, common in many States (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Farm), is that many meet all these conditions...

Are they then unconstitutional?


texts: What is the purpose of signing some contracts?

texts:
I understand that a contract doesn't need to be signed to be legally binding. So why then are so many signed? Is it so that latter in a dispute, if a person claims they never agreed to the contract, their signature could be used as evidence that they did? Are there any other reasons?

On the other hand, what evidences of affirmation make a contract legally binding when not signed? To what extent to they substitute for a signature?


texts: What would prevent a US judge to condemn someone to slavery according to 13th amendment?

texts:
Let us assume that a particularly pervert judge (or a subversive one seeking to make a public case) condemns a convicted criminal to slavery, according to the 13th amendment that seems to allow for such a possibility:

13th Amendment of US Constitution
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.

Setting aside the highly hypothetical details of what that slavery would actually entail, but assuming it is distinct from classical imprisonment, is there anything that could prevent the judge from doing so? And how would one appeal against this decision?
My (overly simplistic) reasoning as a person without background in law is that this article being in the constitution, it would be hard to over-turn it, even on the basis of the US adherence to the Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery?


texts: Can washington residents play online poker fundraiser?

texts: Can a Washington State resident play poker online for a fund-raiser that's hosted by an organization outside of the state of Washington?


texts:
I have been reading Ontario's official driver's handbook and the section on bike lanes was particularly uninformative. First off, you are not supposed to drive in bike lanes, that is straightforward and obvious. But, the text states that for right turns you not only turn through the bike lane but you should be in it to turn right, as if it were the right lane. If there were no bike lanes you would be expected to get over far in advance, but you are never supposed to drive on the bike lane, so I am not sure how far in advance I am supposed to pull into one, when I want to turn right. Also, it just seems very strange, having to change lanes at the last instant, and hoping your spot does not fill up with bikes, seems like turning right with a bike lane would be a very hit and miss situation.

Also, what if I cannot or forget? If I am not in the bike lane, is it illegal to then turn right?


texts: In 1940 Ireland, can a woman marry a divorcee from the USA?

texts:
My questions arise from a (possible) scenario in Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, published in 1939, and hence pertain to Irish and US divorce law around or before 1939.
I understand that at this time divorce was  illegal in Ireland and difficult in the USA.

Prior to the latter decades of the 20th century, divorce was
considered to be against the public interest, and civil courts refused
to grant a divorce except if one party to the marriage had betrayed
the "innocent spouse." Thus, a spouse suing for divorce in most states
had to show a "fault" such as abandonment, cruelty, incurable mental
illness, or adultery.

In Ireland at this time, could a woman marry a man who is legally divorced in the USA for one of the above reasons?


texts: Does GDPR Recital 15 exempt unstructured electronic data?

texts:
GDPR Recital 15 states that

  Files or sets of files, as well as their cover pages, which are not structured according to specific criteria should not fall within the scope of this Regulation.

I have found an interpretation that claims

  This recital seems to imply that unstructured data is not covered under GDPR, and hence is not subject to access requests. This would mean that any unstructured data should not be included in a data subject access request.

Is this a reasonable conclusion for unstructured data such as message bodies in email archives?


texts: Can employer collect and share employee data such as skin colour?

texts:
In an attempt to make the workforce more "diverse", our employer has announced that they will start
"collecting and sharing" [sic!] employee data such as ethnicity and gender. This, they say, is in order to get an "assessment", and the next step would be to reflect the the "diversity of the populations in the company". (Boy, are they in for a surprise, but that's besides the point.)
Questions:

Is it legal for an employer to collect this data, either explicitly by asking questions individually, or implicitly by sifting through employee files? The reason why I'm asking this is because asking these questions are illegal to ask in interview questions, so I'd be surprised if it would be legal to ask them during employment.
Do I need to be truthful, legally? Or can I lie without facing reprimands?
Can the employer legally share this data, either internally or externally, aggregated or not.
Would I have a right to force the employer to disclose to me what data they have collected about me, e.g. in order to rectify it?

(Not sure if this fits law better or workforce, but I'm posting this here because I'm asking for the legality of this all.)


texts: Can the city of Charlottesville, VA ban a group from assembling in the town because of religious or political views?

texts:
Richard B. Spencer (Wikipedia) organized and led a protest march on Oct. 7th, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, drawing this reaction from Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer on Twitter:

  “Another despicable visit by neo-Nazi cowards. You’re not welcome
  here! Go home! Meantime we’re looking at all our legal options. Stay
  tuned.” MikeSigner/status/916838439567482881

The mayors' reaction was a result of the August 11–12, 2017 Unite the Right rally (Wikipedia) that resulted in a death and injuries.

What are some possible legal options for the city of Charlottesville to attempt to prevent Spencer and followers - in a formal or loosely organized group - from gathering or parading?

Are any of these options possibly successful, considering state and federal laws?

  1) Can the city - the city council and/or the mayor - ban a group from
  gathering within the city limits because of religious or political
  beliefs or views?

  2) Can a group be banned because of limits on crowd sizes? For the
  lack of a permit to gather or parade?

  3) Can the city justify the ban of a group because of past violence?

  4) Is there a difference of what the city can do between private land (where the protest has been invited to take place) and
  public spaces that are used by the groups?

  5) Could the city ban a arbitrary number of named individuals, i.e. if
  Spencer's group gathers for a protest but each person claims to not be in a formal group as a strategy to get around a ban on a named group?


texts: Buying a vehicle that may have been involved in a hit-and-run

texts:
I was interested in buying a truck from someone in Kentucky, USA. A friend said he heard the person selling it had performed a hit-and-run about a month earlier. No one was hurt, but police were looking for the perpetrator. Apparently no one got a licence plate number, only a description of the truck. It was pretty obvious the truck had hit something.

Suppose I bought the truck.  Would I be responsible for the hit-and-run if they ever found out exactly who did it?  I did speak to the police, that I thought I knew who it was, but they didn't care at all.


texts: Is a president bound by employment contracts entered into by one of his predecessors?

texts:
The implication of the US Constitution is that the executive power is vested in the President, but where the laws overlap with this power it seems to be a gray area.

For example, it would be plainly unconstitutional for Congress to make a law specifying that it is illegal for the president to dismiss any of his employees of a particular political party. That would be an infringement of the separation of powers.

However, what about contracts? One President, say of some extreme political philosophy, could hire many people into the executive branch and then give them long "employment contracts" that obligate the US government to employ them for 30 years. When a different President becomes elected can he then dismiss those employees and abrogate the contracts? On one hand he should have this power under the Constitution, but on the other he would be violating contract law. How is this contradiction resolved legally?


texts: What does case law say about nonprofit Members' rights to campaign/free speech?

texts:
A Nonprofit organization (corporation) is formed on a Membership basis. That means Members elect a  Board of Directors.

The Members, naturally, need to be able to freely discuss the affairs of the organization (corporation) so they can discuss amongst themselves which directors to elect.

The seated Board of Directors might have feelings about this, and might want to interfere.

In support of this, the State (MI) has statute obliging the organization to give Members the tools to campaign. They "shall provide a reasonable way for Members to communicate regarding the affairs of the corporation". The organization has provided the member list.

Instead the Board of Directors place absurd limitations on speech: "You can't talk about money, can't name individuals, can't disparage anyone or make implications, can't say X, Y, Z". These effectively gag the Members from having any meaningful communication.  This defeats the purpose of the State law which guarantees right to communicate.

The statute seems silent on whether Member speech is free.

I need to find case law (any state will do) where the Board of Directors or managers tried to block free speech or access to the Member list, it went to verdict, and the judge made some sort of ruling on the question of either list access or speech limitations. I have seen several, but can no longer find them.  Out-of-state cases are fine, since my state gives credence to out-of-state cases when local case law is thin.

Would anyone have some leads?


texts: Are there legal definitions of ethnicities/races?

texts:
I recently came across several unrelated articles discussing Afro-American topics in the USA. The topics were various, but generally around positive/negative discrimination, oppression (real vs felt), etc.

The exact details were not important - the point is that they were around "we" (say - African-Americans) versus "them (say - Asians). The ethnicity does not matter.

I was wondering whether under US law (I am French and we do not have racial concepts which are legally relevant) there is a legal definition of "African American".

Could I, a white person with mostly European nordic ancestry (blond hair, blue eyed) claim to be "African American"? And be held liable for that because of [the definition I am asking about]?

Beside the academic aspect of the question, I was wondering how "ethnicity" is measured when there are possible tangible advantages (positive discrimination in universities comes to mind). The exact ethnicity does not matter (I took African American because of the articles I read but any will do - provided they are all equivalent, legally speaking), it is more about how legally any of them are separated from the others.

Note: I initially used the word "race" in the title of my question, changing to "ethnicity" afterwards because I am interested in the legal, and not biological aspect. When reading Wikipedia, however, I noticed that they are sometimes used interchangeably, and sometimes one after the other ("... the largest ethnic and racial group ..."). I finally put both in case this is relevant


texts: Music in private online social gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic

texts:
Me and a small group of friends (10 people) are going to have a party. Normally, we would meet each other at someones home. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everybody will stay at their own places and join through a video chat.
When meeting physically, there would normally be background music. And we wouldn't have to pay any fees (other than for relevant streaming subscriptions, downloads, or physical copies of the music), as this is a private gathering with friends.
But how does this work with online replacements like this? Is it close enough to a "real" party, or are there any relevant copyright laws that would kick in?
Is there any legal difference between having music in the background (picked up by the microphone) or a dedicated stream in the chat for music?
(The event will not be recorded.)


texts: How do I promote my idea using a video without the risk of it being copied?

texts: I plan to create a video to promote my idea for an app. Quite similar to how Google's Pokemon Challenge Video turned into Pokemon Go. I would like people to see how my app would look like and how it can be used when it is finished. I guess I am a little paranoid on people actually copying my idea. Do I have to get a copyright for my idea or can I do something else?


texts: How can clicking on "I agree with ..." have any legal weight?

texts:
Many times you have to agree with some conditions or terms on website by checking the "I agree" checkbox or clicking some button.

Or this - we are working on an agreement email for our client - our client sends email to their client with some kind of "I agree ..." checkbox to give our client approval to contact them and work with their credentials.

Both of these "approvals" can be faked very easily. When user clicks on confirmation url or checks some checkbox, it is just a request sent to our server and we then do something with the request. I can very easily just change directly the value in our database which can't be decided (in terms of law) whether did that user or a database programmer.

If you can't prove who "approved" that, how could it have any legal weight and everybody use it?


texts: In Francis Bacon's time, was common law much less rules-governed than civil law?

texts:
In a paper on the legal inspiration of Francis Bacon's philosophical terms, it is argued that Bacon was more likely inspired by

civil law rather than the common law, reflecting the fact that in his desire to “reduce and perfect” English law into a “Digest”—to be a Tribonian to James I’s Justinian—Bacon similarly drew his inspiration from the rule-governed civil law rather than the comparatively formless common law.

Is this claim that common law was "comparatively formless" (i.e. much less rules-governed than civil law) in Bacon's time in accord with other legal historians' view of the [relative] law situation at the time? (Or was it just Bacon's own view? The paper is not exactly clear on that.)


texts: Is the individual right to bear arms disproven by the deleted conscientious objector clause of the 2nd amendment?

texts:
As an individual, is the notion that an American has the right to a firearm per the 2nd amendment disproven based on the deleted clause of conscientious objectors?
Proposed by James Madison upon the first draft of the amendment, it read:
“A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but no one religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person.”
If the second amendment was solely referring to the individual rights of a private American citizen, why would there be a mention of “render[ing] military service” in the original draft of the amendment? Doesn’t this imply that the amendment only pertains to the military or collective militias?


texts: We sold a salvage car as-is. The buyer can't get it Titled. Do we have to fix it?

texts:
We recently sold a car that we weren't aware there was a salvage title on. The money has already been exchanged and the title signed over to them. The buyers, discovering its salvage status, are now having issues getting it titled in their name, and want us to get involved.

To pass inspection with the sheriff's office it needs to have an air bag light (undiagnosed) fixed, and the buyers want us to pay for it. The light was on, prior to purchase, but they didn't ask about it, or ask us to do anything about it then.

We accepted $900 lower than our asking price of $2600, informally agreeing the buyers could expect to have to do some general repairs as the car is 20 years old. The air bag light was never mentioned in negotiations.

All parties in Colorado, USA.

Note: the Bill of Sale states “as-is”.

Update: The buyers have now abandoned the car outside our house, but are not returning our calls.

Update and Close: The buyers took us to small claims court, and we won, based partially on "as is", and partially because the judge believed we had no way of knowing it was salvage. He seemed unclear on whether only one of those elements would have been enough, so I'm not sure how helpful this is as a precedent, though.


texts:
This ended up being a case of clerical error on their part. They didnt raise the rent at all for the remaining 3 weeks.

As part of my lease agreement, we must give a 60 day notice before we intend to vacate, even when the lease is expiring. The lease says that we are responsible for the remaining time at "a premium rate" on a month to month basis.

We were late in giving this notice by about 3 weeks.

We gave our notice, and expected our rent to go up for the remaining time. However, looking at our rent portal, the amount due is now 6k. 4 times the monthly rent we were paying before.

I understand that the rent is going to go up some, but quadrupling the monthly rent for 3 weeks is completely abusive.

Is there any action I can take? I didn't find any kind of protection for renters in this case, but I feel helpless.
If we really do have to pay this amount we will have to default.

Edit:
The specific verbiage in the lease is

  60 day written notice to vacate is required. Should proper written
  notice not be provided, resident shall remain liable for rent for the
  number of days that the notice is deficient, at a month to month
  premium rate, for all days the Lease is extended beyond the initial
  Lease Term, until the earlier of: (i) sixty (60) days following the
  date Resident provides such notice of termination or (ii) the date on
  which a new resident's lease term for the premises begins.


texts: Can lawyers ask about, and discriminate based on, iPhone ownership during a case involving Apple?

texts:
In the lawsuit(s) between Epic and Apple, assuming it ends up in front of a (federal) jury, are the lawyers for each side allowed to ask potential jurors whether they have iPhones or Android phones; and, on the other side, are they allowed to ask potential jurors if they play, or have played, or are related to someone who plays or has played, Fortnite (the game made by Epic that Apple removed, leading to the lawsuit)?
If they are allowed to ask, are they allowed to strike jurors using their peremptory challenges, or could it be considered a 'for cause' strike?  Or would Batson or other reasoning prevent such a strike, even as a peremptory challenge?


texts: If a misdemeanor crime happens on a plane, where is the jurisdiction?

texts:
If a misdemeanor crime happens during a plane flight, where is the jurisdiction?

For example, suppose a plane is flying from New York to California and while the plane is flying over Idaho, one passenger steals money out of another's purse (petty theft). The victim later discovers the theft and wants to make a complaint against the thief. What is the proper jurisdiction for the complaint?


texts:
Under what circumstances will the police subpoena Gmail for an IP address?

I have been harassed by my ex girlfriend but it has stopped a few months ago. She has not so much harassed me as she harassed my other ex girlfriend and my ex wife. I have recently gone on a dating site and started chatting to this woman. I told this woman about my ex and she emailed my ex to try make peace. I think this woman I was chatting is actually my ex trying to get information.

If I go to the police will they do anything? I have also gotten an email from my ex's husband where he says that I must stop lying to this woman I'm chatting to on the date site. The date site woman never contacted me again and blocked me after my ex told her I was lying.


texts: Is publication of an unpaid debt considered to be libelous?

texts:
In the United States, if a debtor is in default, is it considered libel if the creditor publishes the fact that the debtor is delinquent?

My understanding is that normally truth is a perfect defense to a charge of libel in the United States, but I wondering if this is still true if a creditor sets out to deliberately damage the reputation of a debtor over an unpaid debt.

For example, let's imagine person A borrows $50,000 from person B and agrees to pay it back with interest in 1 years time. The year elapses without the debt being paid. Can person B publish these facts in a newspaper ad without being guilty of libel?


texts: Can one be in ADA compliance "on demand"?

texts:
I work in web development for various businesses. Many of these operate storefronts and have other information that, in the physical world, would need to be provided in a way that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities act.

As a web developer, I'm aware that soon, the government is going to get more serious about enforcing accessibility on business websites as they would at the brick and mortar store, and there have already been lawsuits judged in favor of the plaintiff for websites that failed to provide accessibility options for visitors, so that leads to my question:

If a client has a lot of PDF files, many of which are images, would it be considered "in compliance" to have a form to request these in an accessible (screen reader/Braille keyboard) format (such as raw HTML or plaintext)?

In my mind, this is the same as having to ask the waitstaff for a braille menu at a restaurant, but I could see there being different implications on the internet, where the request may not be met in a "timely" manner.

Much thanks.


texts: How are employer pay statutes enforced against offending employers?

texts:
An employer recently made some strange demands as a part of a job offer. On advice from The Workplace Stack Exchange I'm going to look for work somewhere else, but I'm concerned the employer is engaged in illegal activity and I feel I have a responsibility to make certain someone enforces the law against them. (the specific demands they were making are illegal for them to make). Note that there is a known form of scam where an employer will try to get an employee to do this so that the employer can conduct fraud on someone else without being as obviously involved in the conduct, and that is one of several reasons that these laws exist.

When an employer is violating these rules, what is the employee's next course of action? Is there a specific government enforcement agency I should file a complaint with, such as a banking regulator? Does the employee have to file a lawsuit in some specific jurisdiction (the job offer crossed state lines)? Since this is a matter that relates banking, labor law, and to both state and federal law, and has intersections with both civil and criminal law, what agencies or jurisdictions should this be pursued under?

Since there were initially some who argued that these laws don't actually exist I have added the following paragraph to clarify: If you were not aware, U.S. federal law (and some state laws) restrict how an employer can implement their payroll. One of the restrictions is that they can't force you to receive direct deposit at any specific institution. (They can't, for example, tell you that your direct deposit must happen at the same bank the employer uses.) In some states the restrictions are even more severe, prohibiting the requirement of direct deposit. The cited rules include some legal definitions that differ slightly from how you might read something at home (for example, the definition of a consumer, which can include employees). The definitions can be found here.


texts: What are the limits of service provision/PII consent for compliance with GDPR?

texts:
Most of the internet business model can be described as providing data in exchange for seeing adverts.  These adverts are worth a lot more if they can be targeted.  The GDPR applies to this, such that any processing must have one of 6 lawful bases, in this case usually one of 2: Consent (the user clicks on something to provide consent) or Legitimate interests (the processing is necessary for the web site's legitimate interests).
There are generally 2 ways that this business model is maintained:

Tracking is legitimate interest

For example, if you visit The Times webpage, reject all leaving only legitimate interest, your browser is directed to load an image from https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/gen_204?id=sodar2&v=222&t=2&li=gpt_2021042801&jk=232965657245332&bg=[1136 characters of tracking data].  This is to allow google to process PII, specifically placement-targeting in the "AdSense" ad auction for adverts on that site.  There are also various cookies that look like they are targeting adverts.

Do not provide data if consent is not granted

If I search for "avocado" on google, the top 2 hits are to different domains on the same web site, and if you select "Disallow All" in Privacy Settings you are refused access to the article, being redirected to the "ad-free, tracking-free version" which has only 10 articles not including the one originally visited.

What information is available to determine the legal limits of this behaviour? I am interesting in this both from the point of view of the developer and the user of the web site.


texts:
For example, lets say I was starting up a gun company. I drew up and planned my perfect pistol, and now I need to build it to test it out and see what to fix. I use a 3D printer to create metal gun parts for the pistol, which I put together by hand. Would it be illegal to 3D print a gun to test out a design for a company without licenses?

USA, Maryland


texts: Software License For Proprietary Software Open Only For Licensee Modification and Security Review?

texts:
I'm looking for a software license (calling it "open source" would be incorrect) which can be loosely modified to meet the following objectives:

Maintains the ability to sell seats to software for the original creator of the software granting things like number of servers, cores, users, featuresets, etc.
Maintains the ability of the original creator to license, sell or otherwise distribute in any manner they please.
Available to download for modification and use by the person/corporation modifying it with the licensed seats unable to change (a modified version counts the same as an unmodified version for the purpose of licensed seats and must adhere to the underlying license itself.)
No rights to redistribute in a modified form for sale or otherwise unless the licensee is licensed for that specific purpose.
Maintains patent and trademark rights for the original creator of the software while granting their use implicitly for however many seats the licensee has.

The purpose of this would be to have proprietary software which is open source both for security (lots of cryptographic tools involved and that stuff is just wrong to keep closed source) and for modification by the licensee (so they can add/remove functions for their specific environment without waiting on support if they so choose, compile from source to avoid working with binaries, etc.)

This would be coupled with implicit licenses for something like 100 servers per individual for non-commercial use, 10 per individual for commercial and 1,000 for a non profit organization.


texts:
If a client submits a document labeled 'attorney-client' to a government agency, it becomes public record (per the US government authority).  If the document is obtained from the government (sent by the government to an inquiring mind), is it effectively NOT attorney-client privileged?

UPDATE \ CLARIFICATION

The disclosure by the client to the government is intentional in the form of a complaint.  The disclosure of the document to any requestor is also not accidental.


texts: When does a stolen item become a lost/abandoned item?

texts:
In my area we have those bikeshare bikes. I come across broken ones all the time. I have retrieved a few from lakes,creeks and fields and put them in a concentrated location and reported them to the company. After over a month, the company has not picked them up.

One of these bikes has had the lock and other parts cut off. It is impossible to purchase a ride on it. It has obviously been stolen at one point. It is in pretty bad shape but still rideable.

If I rode this bike on day 1, would it have been a crime?
If I ride it after a month of not being picked up, is it a crime?

USA. Texas.


texts: Under what conditions can a cop arrest someone?

texts:
I know in the old days, a person could only be arrested if they were actually observed in the commission of a crime. If someone accused someone else of a crime, they could not be arrested, but only indicted. In other words, a public prosecutor would receive the complaint and draw up an indictment. Then a warrant for the arrest would be made out to bring the person to trial.

This procedure seems to have been aborted and now police apparently arrest suspects based on complaints even though they have no warrant. This seems rather lawless to me.

If this is true, what is the legal basis, if any, for this new way of doing things?

(If the answer would be different in different states, then use Massachusetts as the example.)

Concrete Example

As a concrete example of what I am talking about, recently a mother was arrested and taken to jail in Michigan for "stealing" her daughter's cell phone. The women's ex-husband called the police and falsely told them the phone belonged to him. Based on this complaint, the woman was arrested.

Now, according to my understanding of the law to arrest the woman on a complaint like this, since it is criminal and only the state can bring criminal charges in Michigan, what would be normal is that the complaint would be reviewed by a prosecutor. The prosecutor would then charge the woman in a court of law, the court would then issue an arrest warrant, and she would be arrested.

This is not what happened, however. The deputy simply arrested her without taking any action in court or involvement of a prosecutor. How is that police can now arrest people like this without warrants? What is the legal basis?


texts: Is failure to disclose the bullying and offensive Tenancy In Common president basis to annul the real estate sale?

texts:
My relative bought a condo which is under Tenancy In Common arrangement.

During the first week it became apparent that it has (a probably psychopathic) individual who is a president. He is bullying, putting out various demands, knocks on the door of tenants, etc.

While talking to neighbors, it also became clear that this president was in constant conflict with the previous owner of that condo too.

The other owners, only 2 of them, are either elderly, or rent to others, and effectively don't care.

I am trying to find a solution for my close relative, because he is not as resourceful, and I am going through various ideas as of how to resolve this unhealthy situation.

One question I have is: Is failure to disclose a bully as a president of Tenancy In Common, and a string of conflicts that was occurring at this complex for years a valid grounds for sale annulment?

The second question: What is the best solution in such situation? I am thinking to demand dissolution of TIC and going to independent ownership (I don't really understand why/how TIC is beneficial in the first place if people are completely unrelated.) Another possible way is to get a restraining order against that other owner, because his actions amount to bullying IMO.

Location: California


texts:
Reading the list of officers of the 59th Congress, I see someone whose job I can't figure out:

  Postmaster:
  J.C. McElroy

What did the Postmaster do? Was it his job to oversee the nation's postal service? There doesn't seem to be a corresponding position today.


texts: Can defendant respond to a summons via e-mail?

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The plaintiff served a defendant with a summons to pay debt.

The defendant filed a written response with the clerk of court in person, but must also send a copy to the plaintiff via mail or in person.

Can the defendant send the copy of the response via e-mail?


texts: What can people do to be legally protected while licensing digital products over the internet?

texts:
As I've developed develop digital products and teach at an educational organization, I've become increasingly interested in studying the details of the law that effect the modern generations of new business. One of the defining characteristics of modern business is selling digital products online, but obviously there are problems with legal protection on that front as it is newer legal territory. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to hire a lawyer or get some kind of formal legal advice, but rather to find the right direction and a proper precedent for people facing this situation. Specifically, what is the best license agreement that allows any random person off the street to be legally protected when licensing purely digital content over the internet?

What I mean is, say a business owner or sole proprietor wants to license a digital file, like a picture or audio file so that the buyer can use it to make and sell their own games, videos, commercials and freelance work, educational purposes, presentations, or really anything else that uses multimedia. But, the creator of the original digital product obviously doesn't want a buyer to simply start selling or distributing the individual files themselves or as a collection of files, they original creator or organization wants to retain their rights while preventing the buyers from selling specifically the files or modified versions of the files while allowing the buyers the utility to make commercial end-products with it. What kind of terms of use, in a simple text document, can be provided to ensure this with a product download? And does such a text document actually create any binding agreement in the first place?

I would hope someone who has studied this or has experience with this matter could point me in the right direction so that I can convey it to designers and students alike.
You can use microsoft word, but you can't sell microsoft word or any of its components or reverse engineer it. What kind of agreement is the equivalent of that but for digital media files?


texts: Consumer rights when a refund is not processed correctly

texts:
Recently, I have experienced the following sequence of events:

I purchased an item from a major Australian retailer "A".
I found the same item cheaper at a different retailer "B".
Retailer A was unwilling to match retailer B's price. However, they do offer a no-questions-asked change-of-mind returns policy. As such, I placed an order with retailer B, and returned the original item to retailer A, who accepted the return and provided a full refund.
The order with retailer B was cancelled on their end due to insufficient stock.
I returned to retailer A to place a new order for the item (at their higher price). They accepted the order, charging a non-refundable deposit.
Reviewing my bank statements, I discovered that the "refund" from retailer A actually resulted in a debit to my account, rather than a credit of the refunded amount.
Retailer B found additional stock of the item, and honoured my original order with them.

As a result of this saga, I now have two copies of the item (one from B, and one on order from A at a higher price). I've essentially paid A three times for the one item, and I don't even need it anymore since I got it cheaper from B.

Who legally owns the item purchased in step 1? Since it was returned in expectation of monetary compensation, I'd argue that the transaction with retailer A in step 3 didn't actually transfer ownership back to them, since that compensation didn't occur. However, I imagine that they could argue they own the item, since they have physical possession of it and (as far as I know) their computer system shows the original transaction has been reversed.

The reason this is relevant is because I wish to cancel my order with retailer A without financial penalty, including a refund of the "non-refundable" deposit. I'd argue that the order was placed under the mistaken belief that I no longer owned the item purchased in step 1, and never would have been placed had I known I still owned the item. Since that mistaken belief was a result of their mistake processing the earlier return, I believe it is their responsibility to correct the situation with no financial detriment to myself.

I ask this question now, before having discussed the situation with retailer A. I fully expect them to completely refund the transactions of steps 1 (as originally agreed) and 3 (to correct their mistake), however I'd like to be able to mount a solid argument for requesting a full refund of the transaction in step 5.

Is my understanding of the situation correct? Am I likely to be able to argue my case as described above? Are such situations covered under Australian consumer law, or will I have to rely on good will on retailer A's part?

NOTE: I have receipts, invoices and bank statements attesting to each of the transactions involved, which I can provide to retailer A to prove my case if necessary.


texts: Can advising someone to hire an attorney ever be considered an unlawful practice of law in itself?

texts:
Suppose you advise someone to hire attorney because it is your opinion that certain facts exist and that they are "illegal".   Further, suppose you are not an attorney and the process of advising this person has nothing to do with you representing yourself.  You are just giving friendly advice to hire a lawyer because you think X is illegal and what they're doing is X.

Is that an unlawful practice of law?


texts:
The first defining condition for hearsay under Federal Rules of Evidence 801(c)(1) is that it is a statement which the declarant does not make while testifying at the current trial or hearing. As I understand it, this means that the statement (testimony) "I saw Jones stab Smith" offered by a witness is not hearsay, because the statement is made by the declarant at the current trial. This is why people can testify to what they observed.

But even though the testimony "Jones said 'I stabbed Smith'" would be a statement made by a declarant at the current trial, it also includes the statement "I stabbed Smith", and that statement was not made by the declarant at the current trial. Thus the overall statement introduces a second statement. Assuming that this statement is made at the trial to prove that Jones stabbed Smith, the testimony would therefore be hearsay. Furthermore, if Jones were to testify about himself that “I said that I stabbed Smith”, that too would be hearsay (although that statement too is made by the declarant, it was not made at the current trial).

There are various subsequent exceptions where statements are then positively defined as "not hearsay", which I don’t want to pursue at the moment. My question is whether my characterization of the fundamental definition of hearsay is correct (and if not, why not, with case citations especially appreciated). For the sake of discussion, assume this is somewhere in the US.

(My ultimate goal is to understand "adoptive admissions").


texts: recording conversations without consent and playing the recordings to others

texts: I live in Arizona a retirement community and was on my porch recently having a conversation with a friend. During the conversation, I said some negative comments about the manager and the maintenance man. My neighbor recorded our conversation without my knowledge or permission; he then played it to the manager and the maintenance man and several other residents. Now my friend and I are being ostracized by several residents. My question is do I have a case against my neighbor for illegally recording my private conversation and, if yes, what type of attorney do I contact? Thank you


texts: I owed my landlord from a small claims case.  I was making payment towards the debt until I lost my business. Recently I contacted her to negotiate the pending debt.  She sent me a text responding that it I give her a money order for 75% of the amount that she will go to the court and tell them that I paid the full amount.  After I told her that I had the money for her she changed the amount owed and is now asking for an additional $750.  What can I do?


texts:
My lease states the following:

LEASE TERM. The initial term of the Lease Contract begins on the 12th
day of October, 2019 and ends at midnight the 11th day of October,
2020. This Lease Contract will automatically renew (see section 15) unless either party gives at least days written notice of termination
or intent to move-out as required by paragraph 37. If the number of
days isn’t filled in, at least 60 days notice is required.

I was unaware of an auto-renewal clause in my contract didn't give written notice of cancellation until 9/8/20 (deadline was 8/12/20). Now my complex is trying to stick me with a huge bill to buyout the new lease contract, which begins 10/12. How would this contract renewal likely be interpreted under MI law? It does not explicitly define the exact duration(e.g. begins 10/12/20 and ends 10/12/21) of the auto renewal and section 15 makes no reference to the matter. If not explicitly stated, I believe an auto renewal by default in MI would move month to month. Would this qualify?


texts: What does `remedy' mean when applied to `malfunction'?

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In a legal document, referenced from the license, describing the support service of a commercial software product, the obligations of the latter are described thus:

  When Licensee reports malfunctions, Company supports Licensee by providing information on
  how to remedy, avoid or bypass errors.

After consulting several law dictionaries, I see that remedy is the general term for the restoration of justice, without regard to the method or manner of doing so. Do I then understand aright that in this context it does not, necessarily, imply actually fixing bugs in the program, for a remedy may be a compensation, or it may deal with alleviating the consequences of a defect, rather than removing the defect itself?

Also, I find it suspicious that Company's reaction to reports of malfunctions is strictly informative. Of course, one may suppose that such infomration may comprise an instruction to install a corrected version of the software, but is it safe to make the assumption, or shall one look for an explicit promise to correct errors in the software?


texts: The controlling language in German employment contracts

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I am about to be employed in Germany under an American company which has a branch office in Germany.

Recently I got a contract from them that has side-by-side translations with German on the left and English on the right. I found a critical anomaly in the contract about currency format used to state my yearly salary. On both the sides german and english they have used american currency format

Example:

  German: EUR 45,000      ----------->       English: EUR 45,000

which is only correct for the English format, as in German it only mean 45 EUROS instead of 45000 :o

My questions are:

Should I get it in the right format in German part?
IN such cases in germany which language is the binding language when not explicitly stated in the contract?


texts: Will there be any copyright issue if we use an existing product's name?

texts: In software industry, while naming a new app or a product, will there be any copyright issue if we use an existing name?


texts: Is presenting a play showing Military characters in a bad light a crime in the US? Or does the First Admendment prevent this?

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This is a followup to Is it illegal to wear military surplus clothing?

US Law 10 USC 771 provides that only members of the US military may wear:

  ...the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps;

or a similar uniform, except as otherwise provided by law. To do so without authorization is a crime. 18 USC 702 has almost identical provisions.

10 USC 772 gives a list of exceptions: circumstances in which people not currently in teh military may legally wear the uniform. Of these, paragraph (f) reads:

  While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force.  (emphasis added)

It seems to me that the bold section would, if enforced, constitute an impermissible regulation of symbolic speech, in that it is a content-based regulation.

Can it really be made criminal for an actor to portray a "member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps" as a tyrant, or a bigot, or in some other way that "tend[s] to discredit that armed force"? There are some historical situations where an accurate portrayal might well "tend to discredit" a military service: For example the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, or the Andersonville prison during the civil war, just to name two. Or a completely fictional portrayal of a modern Captain Queeg could be seen as discreditable. For the matter of that, the portrayal of the Captain in the classic WWII film Mister Roberts could be so seen.

Of course, this only arises as an issue if someone tries to prosecute in such a situation. If it were, would a First Amendment defense be likely to prevail?


texts: Is a business license needed for an online business, with incorporation in one state and ownership residence of another?

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One has an LLC in Delaware but resides in North Carolina. All sales of the company are online and not in any one particular state.

Is a business license needed in either of Delaware or North Carolina, both or neither?

The business is registered as an LLC in Delaware. The sole member of the LLC resides in North Carolina but sales are not in any particular state. I do not know if that means the business technically operates in Delaware or North Carolina. There is no physical location so I do not know if a business license is needed as well. The business is completely online.


texts:
Expired temporary certificates. A three-year nonrenewable temporary certificate may be issued to an applicant who held a temporary certificate but did not hold a temporary certificate for the school year immediately preceding the school fiscal year for which the certificate is requested [...].

Note that school years run from August to July.

So suppose I held a certificate from September 2016 for the school year 2016-17, to when it expired at September 2019. Then...

Can I request and be issued a certificate for the school year 2020-2021, because I did not have a certificate for 2019-2020, or any part of? After all, my certificate expired on the school year 2018-2019.


texts: What are my working hours rights as an exempt employee

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My new boss wants to use the following paragraph in my contract to insist that I be in the office 9 - 6 Mon - Fri, be on call 24/7, and go into the office out of hours regularly (including weekends):

  Normal office business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday
  through Friday, although, these hours are subject to change.  As an
  exempt employee, you will be expected to work additional hours as
  required by the nature of your work assignments.

As an exempt employee in the state of California what are my legal obligations and do I have any protection against this?


texts: Is revoking citizenship for affiliation with a terrorist group a violation of international law?

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In two very notable recent cases, Hoda Muthana of the US and Shamima Begum of the UK were stripped of their citizenships by their respective countries of origin while attempting to return after leaving years earlier to join ISIS. But is it legal?

The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons before it, at least one of which was signed by most major western countries, lay out a framework for reducing statelessness and improving the lives of those who find themselves stateless. One of the core tenets of these treaties, as stated in Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is that "Everyone has the right to a nationality".

It is worth noting that the United States is not a party to either of these treaties, and further claims that Hoda Muthana was never a citizen as her father was a diplomat. Further research indicates she was born a month after his diplomatic status ended and there seems to be documentation of her possession of citizenship documents, but that's politics. The UK case is far more cut-and-dry.

So... if a nation party to one or both of the Statelessness Conventions revokes one's citizenship because of affiliation with a terrorist group, is that allowed under the terms of the Statelessness Conventions, or is it a violation of international law?


texts: How long can the government hold bail money?

texts:
How long can bail be held by the government?  I was under the assumption that bail money is used as an incentive to get a criminal defendant to appear in court.

However, I have recently been informed that bail money can be held for a longer period: that if a court decides on a probation term for a convict then it can hold bail money until after the probation period is completed.  Is this correct?
 Is it normal?


texts: Apple's magnetic charging port has been patented, but why wasn't a search engine?

texts: Apple's magnetic port has been patented, and now no other company can use the same idea to build its charging ports. If this can be achieved for a charging port, I was wondering why a search engine or an e-commerce platform per se can't be patented so that no other competitor would start working on it.


texts: Why is nudity prohibited on dating sites / social media?

texts: It seems like all big social media sites and dating apps prohibit users from uploading photos containing nudity. Is there a legal motivation for that?


texts: If an officer has a warrant to collect an electronic device, can the owner insist it's turned off first?

texts:
Another theoretical question just out of curiosity.

Lets say that an officer has gotten a warrant to take/search an individuals laptop in the United States and comes to serve it.  At the moment the officer appears to serve the warrant the individual has the laptop on (or in hibernation mode) and with incriminating data being viewed.  If the laptop was taken as-is the incriminating data could be viewed when taken out of hibernate mode to be inspected later, but the data could not be retrieved if the computer was turned off completely (he's using an incognito browser or encrypted drive etc to cover his tracks).  Does the person being searched have the right to demand the computer be turned off before it is taken on the grounds that the warrant is only for the computer, not for the activity he is currently involved in?

Assuming the question is yes then as a follow up question what could the individual do if the computer was not turned off and the state tries to take him to trial using evidence that was only accessible because the device was not deactivated?  could he get the evidence dismissed?  Would he have to have requested, and been denied, that the computer be deactivated before confiscation for the evidence to be dismissed, or could he retroactively point out it should have been?

In short, could I justify police knowing someone is guilty because of content he had viewed in a private browser at the moment the computer was confiscated, but being unable to prosecute because it isn't legally viable?


texts: How It is with sharing content on Facebook

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Facebook Terms of Service contains (3.8.2015) the following text in section 2.4:

  When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).

Does this mean everyone is allowed to use that content (republish, remix...), when you publish it using Public setting?

What happens If user who originally published published content, removes it?


texts:
When someone says another person has a brilliant legal mind, I assume that means the person is well suited for hard legal questions. I think mathematicians and logicians have a systematic way of determining how hard their questions are.  Is there a similar way of determining how hard a legal question is?
From Computational Complexity Theory (Wikipedia):

NP-hardness (non-deterministic polynomial-time hard), in computational complexity theory, is a class of problems that are, informally, "at least as hard as the hardest problems in NP". More precisely, a problem H is NP-hard when every problem L in NP can be reduced in polynomial time to H.[1]:80 As a consequence, finding a polynomial algorithm to solve any NP-hard problem would give polynomial algorithms for all the problems in NP, which is unlikely as many of them are considered hard.[2]
A common mistake is thinking that the NP in "NP-hard" stands for "non-polynomial". Although it is widely suspected that there are no polynomial-time algorithms for NP-hard problems, this has never been proven. Moreover, the class NP also contains all problems which can be solved in polynomial time.


texts: Is it legal to give non cash tips to waiters and other servers and what are the consequences in terms of taxes?

texts:
I wasn't sure I should ask this under Law or Personal Finance & Money. I was wondering what the rules are regarding non-cash tips in the United States. By non-cash tips, I do not mean using a credit card, but rather giving a tip using something of value other than USD: movie tickets, silver coins, etc.

Additionally, how is that treated in terms of reporting and taxes?


texts: Is it possible to sue the German government because of a break with the IFG (TTIP)?

texts:
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is heavily debated. It's still debated behind closed doors! Citizens may not get a look at the documents; a few German politicians have - after a very long debate - been able to get a look at it; but they have had to look at it in the American Embassy, have to read it there under high security standards and may not talk about or duplicate the documents. I mean, that is just against democracy. And it's frightening that even elected politicians were unable to discuss it for a very long time, as they would have to sign on behalf of Germany.

I would like to know if it's possible to sue the German government for its lack of transparency. I mean, we have the Federal Act Governing Access to Information held by the Federal Government, the German analogue to the US Freedom of Information Act:

  Section 1 Underlying principles

  (1) Everyone is entitled to official information from the authorities
  of the Federal Government in accordance with the provisions of this
  Act. This Act shall apply to other Federal bodies and institutions
  insofar as they discharge administrative tasks under public law. For
  the purposes of these provisions, a natural or legal person shall be
  treated as equivalent to an authority where an authority avails itself
  of such a person in discharging its duties under public law.

  (2) The authority may furnish information, grant access to files or
  provide information in any other manner. Where an applicant requests a
  certain form of access to information, the information may only be
  provided by other means for good cause. In particular, substantially
  higher administrative expenditure shall constitute good cause.

  (3) Provisions in other legislation on access to official information
  shall take precedence, with the exception of Section 29 of the
  Administrative Procedure Act (VwVfG) and Section 25 of Book Ten of the
  Social Code.

  Section 2 Definitions

  For the purposes of this Act,

  official information shall be defined as every record serving official purposes, irrespective of the mode of storage. This shall not
  include drafts and notes which are not intended to form part of a
  file;
  a third person shall be defined as anyone on whom personal data or other information are held.


texts: Can I sue Volkswagen for damage to my health?

texts:
Hypothetically, what legal standing would an individual who does not own a Volkswagen car have to sue Volkswagen for damage to health?

As someone who suffers from respiratory issues, it seems that Volkswagen has likely contributed to the decline in my health in some way by having its cars emit 40x the legal limit of some pollutants known to damage human health.

What laws cover this kind of injury and is there any precedence in UK law, e.g. for injury from other passive sources such as tobacco smoking or environmental damage?


texts: Why does the District of Columbia have its own Court of Appeals?

texts: Geographically, it looks like DC should be part of the Fourth Circuit. With such a small population, only about 3% of what the other Circuits have jurisdiction over, why does it get its own?