texts: How did the advocacy styles of Robert MacCrindle, Lords Alexander and Bingham differ?

texts:
Please expound Lord Phillips's brusque explanation below? Pick your favorite case, if a case can better exemplify these advocacy styles.

I.e. what exactly do the emboldened phrases mean? What would MacCrindle's "impression that his only concern was to prevent the court from making a terrible mistake" appear? Was his advocacy overblown?

How would Alexander be "not prepared to leave a point until he had talked the court into sharing his viewpoint"? In my experience, stern hot-headed judges won't allow you to dwell on your point if they desire to move on!

Aren't all non-negligent barristers, especially QCs, supposed "to present a series of propositions, each one honed with precision and supported by authority, the effect of each item of which would be summarized in a pellucid précis"? How's this special to Lord Bingham? How was this "devastatingly effective"?

Within only a few years of taking silk, Bingham became a leader of the English bar. Lord Denning identified Bingham and Patrick Neill as the two foremost advocates of their time.[39] Lord Phillips also described the contrasting style of the three "outstanding advocates" of Bingham's generation, Robert MacCrindle, Lord Alexander of Weedon, and Bingham:

Bob MacCrindle, silver tongued gave the impression that his only concern was to prevent the court from making a terrible mistake.
Bob Alexander always appeared personally to be persuaded of the merits of his client's case and not prepared to leave a point until he had talked the court into sharing his viewpoint.
Tom's approach was to present a series of propositions, each one honed with precision and supported by authority, the effect of each item of which would be summarized in a pellucid précis. This advocacy, firmly delivered but with a tactful deference, was devastatingly effective. [40]

As Stephen Sedley explained, there was nothing flamboyant or oratorical about Bingham's style of advocacy. He was quietly spoken, courteous, and methodical.[41]  …


texts:
Let's say a police officer searches a property without a warrant, and discovers a couple of people imprisoned there.

Would their testimony against the owner later be inadmissible as it's a result of the illegal search?


texts: Consumer Rights Act 2015 vs EU DIRECTIVE 93/13/EEC

texts:
I am interested in the interplay of the EU directive 93/13/EEC and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in the UK.
Specifically the Consumer Rights Act has an exclusion from assessment of fairness where the clause specifies the main subject matter of the contract. But this is not mentioned in the directive so seems to severely limit the applicability of the directive.
I am interested because we have a mortgage that changed from a fixed rate to a tracker but the tracker has a floor preventing the rate from falling below a certain level. The floor is clearly outlined in the contract for the mortgage, however, we were unaware of it when we signed and actually assumed we have been repaying at a lesser rate than what we were.
I would like to argue that the floor introduced a significant unfair imbalance as it protected the lender from a reduction in the base rate without providing us with protection from raising rates.
It seems many Spanish mortgages with similar "floor" contracts have had the floor nullified for similar reasons and they seem to be referring to the EU directive.
I have also come across a EU Court of Justice ruling regarding the directive which states:

the concept of ‘significant imbalance’ to the detriment of the consumer must be assessed in the light of an analysis of the rules of national law applicable in the absence of any agreement between the parties, in order to determine whether, and if so to what extent, the contract places the consumer in a less favourable legal situation than that provided for by the national law in force. To that end, an assessment of the legal situation of that consumer having regard to the means at his disposal, under national law, to prevent continued use of unfair terms, should also be carried out;
in order to assess whether the imbalance arises ‘contrary to the requirement of good faith’, it must be determined whether the seller or supplier, dealing fairly and equitably with the consumer, could reasonably assume that the consumer would have agreed to the term concerned in individual contract negotiations.

That seems to suggest that a court would need to consider if I would have accepted the terms if I had been able to negotiate them with assistance of professional advice which would have been unlikely due to the one sided nature of the clause.
UK law would seem to make the floor legally valid regardless of fairness because the floor was a "main part" of the agreement which means it is excluded from the fairness test.
I am a bit out of my depth and definitely do not understand how an EU directive / ruling could affect my argument. However, is it the case that the EU directive / EU Court ruling can override the UK law?
I would greatly appreciate any advice as to how best to formulate my argument with my lender or if I really don't have a leg to stand on from a legal perspective.


texts: How much street space can restaurants occupy?

texts: In Paris, France, what define how much street space can a restaurant occupy?


texts: When is evidence introduced that is not easily shown

texts:
In a criminal trial, I've seen counsel walk over and show items to the opposing counsel that they wish to enter into evidence. After showing it to them, they'll begin laying the foundation sometimes by asking the witness if they know what the item is, etc.

But for instance if the defense wants to introduce a video into evidence, how can they walk over and show it to counsel, and wouldn't they have to show it to the court in order to start laying a foundation? If so, how does that get shown to the witness in order to ask if it's a true and reasonably correct video?


texts: Should offline users of an online video game be forced to accept ToS?

texts:
In the context of a video game that has online and offline play.

An account is needed to play online, but no account is required to play offline.

Assuming the user must accept some terms while signing up, is it necessary to show a legal document for a user only playing offline?

The game also uses CC 3.0 licensed assets.

Are these valid reasons to create some terms the user must accept while playing offline? Could both online and offline documents be merged into one that the user must accept in the first launch of the game?


texts: Can an attorney be arrested whilst representing their client in court?

texts:
In the videos linked to below, we see an extraordinary circumstance where a defence lawyer turns up late and apparently intoxicated after a possible hit-and-run vehicle collision.
Here's a summary.

The defence attorney turns up apparently drunk but wants to continue representing his client who is facing a very serious criminal charge.
The judge immediately investigates the behaviour of the attorney both in chambers and later on the record in open court. The defence counsel is caught out in various lies.
The prosecution call the police to check the facts of the collision involving the defence lawyer.
A police technician turns up in court to administer a breath test to the lawyer.
The judge proclaims the lawyer unfit to continue.
There are many very odd circumstances brought to light while this is all happening.
The video ends before we know whether the lawyer is arrested.

Video 1 (25 minutes): Intoxicated Vegas Lawyer Can't Keep His Story Straight
Video 2 (30 minutes): Intoxicated Vegas Lawyer Can't Keep His Story Straight II
Question
(a) Could the police interview and arrest the lawyer and remove him from court?
(b) Do attorneys and other people involved in a case have any immunity from investigation and/or arrest whilst the court is in session?


texts: I did my 2018 tax return with Universal Financials, LLC, and I got my tax review copy online. Then one of my colleague came and said he also did tax return filing through the same agency and he got my tax review copy, which includes my name, address,social security number, and other tax related info. So I dont know how to protect my details from others and also is that details shared to anyone else or not. Is there any way to ask for the compensation to the above said agency? or should I ask the agency to provide me a documented agreement saying that if anything happens in future, they will take the full responsibility. Or shall I move a legal case against them?


texts: Building a site like socialbade illegal?

texts:
There are plenty of sites that seem to grab/crawl public profiles form Instagram, e.g. Socialblade, Instastatistics, or Likeometer.

What I read from Instagram’s TOC is that this is violating these TOCs, esp.

  You must not access Instagram's private API by any other means other
  than the Instagram application itself. You must not crawl, scrape, or
  otherwise cache any content from Instagram including but not limited
  to user profiles and photos.

So, are all these sites operating illegally?


texts: Why can't logos of companies be used by referring to nominative fair use?

texts:
Companies have trademarks on their logos. If I want to use their logos in my own production, I need permission to do so.

But if my production makes it clear that the use of the logo is only meant to refer to the company, wouldn't that fall under nominative fair use, and hence I don't need permission?

To make up an example on the spot, say I am in the smartphone market, and I want to create a commercial comparing my prices to that of my rivals, say Samsung and Apple.

Can I then in my commercial have an Apple logo and a Samsung logo along, and next to them list some average price for their phones?

Clearly then the use of the logo is there only to refer to Apple/Samsung and not to claim ownership over their logo in any way?


texts: When a signed contract states that a landlord has gifted white goods to a tenant, does this transfer ownership to the tenant?

texts:
If a signed Addendum is attached to a tenancy agreement, stating that 'the landlord understands that the white goods have been gited to the tenant from the start of the tenancy', does this mean that the ownership of the goods has been legally transferred to the tenants?

Can the landlord then request that the white goods are returned at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant entitled to remove them from the property at the end of the tenancy? Can the landlord ask for them back?

If the tenant replaces the items (e.g., because they broke down) are they entitled to replace and do they own the replacement? Are they required to leave the replacement in the property?

Here is an example of such an Addendum:

"The landlord understands and the tenant agrees that all white goods e.g., washing machine and fridge freezer have been gifted to the tenants from the start of the tenancy. The landlord is not responsible for the repair or replacement of these items."


texts: Is a garage "storage" or part of the premises?

texts:
In California, many realtors use the "C.A.R. Form LR, Rev 12/19" which can be found at: https://www.car.org/-/media/CAR/Documents/Transaction-Center/PDF/Standard-Forms/December-2019-New-Forms-Release/LR-VERSION-2-FINAL.pdf
Clause 8 is about storage. Some leasers check 8A and write in that the garage is "included storage", along with restrictions detailed in 8A. However, from 8B it is clear that the tenant may already store their own personal property on the premises. Isn't a garage, especially a garage which is physically attached to the dwelling, already "part of the premises"? And if the garage is included under clause 8A, then does that disallow the store of things like gasoline, paint, charcoal, lighter fluid etc. in the garage?


texts: What are the legal implications if a borrower gets a loan through reporting "illegal" income?

texts:
Suppose a borrower applied for, and got a mortgage from a bank, by reporting an income for several years of say, $100,000 a year. Suppose this borrower had zero legal income during this time, but had income from illegal sources of over $100,000 a year?

Could the borrower be found guilty of lying on the loan application about his income? Could the bank be found negligent for not verifying if the income was legal, even thought it was actually in excess of the reported $100,000 a year? Would the answers change if the illegal income was of a kind that can be reverted or "clawed back" because of conversion or other charges (such as drug dealing)?


texts: Is there a limit to the number of trials on a criminal charge permitted due to hung juries?

texts:
In a jury trial for a criminal charge, SCOTUS recently ruled that a guilty verdict must be unanimous.
In (almost) every state a verdict to acquit a criminal defendant must also be unanimous.
If a jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict (a.k.a. a hung jury) then the judge must declare a mistrial and the prosecutor can demand a new trial of the same defendant on the same charge.
Are there any legal constraints on the number of times that a defendant can be retried following mistrials due to hung juries?  Or is the only practical constraint the willingness of the prosecutor to expend government resources (and perhaps political capital) pursuing a conviction?


texts: Can an API forbid caching of the data it provides?

texts:
Not sure whether this is the best place for this kind of question, happy to move it if needed.
I'm designing a web application that will make use of a (non-free) third-party API. Paying a monthly subscription fee would give me access to a certain amount of API requests per month, after which I'd have to pay a flat fee per individual request above the threshold.
However, one thing that confuses me is that the company providing the service states in their terms and conditions that it's forbidden to cache user-requested data for longer than an hour, after which (and I'm quoting) I must  delete my cache and refreshed the data via the API.
Is this limitation enforceable? What if the end-user is the one caching the data on their end? I'd have no control over this at all... If it makes any difference, the information provided by the API is not proprietary, the only service they offer is an easy-to-use API and some extra functionality on how to query the underlying information.


texts: Can I argue in a court that initial conditions which were agreed, are broken? (by a Country)

texts:
Have a look at this hypothetical case:
Assume that I apply for Irish Immigrant Investor Program. See page number 15, where in bold font, it is mentioned:
The Immigrant Investor Programme recognises that investors who benefit from the
programme may have substantial business and financial interests outside of Ireland.
Therefore, actual physical residence in Ireland is not a condition for renewal of your
residency permission under the Immigrant Investor Programme. This condition applies to
both investors and their nominated family members. The programme simply requires
investors and their family members to visit Ireland at least once per calendar year.
Now assume that I apply for it and get a permission to live in Ireland based on my investment. The document mentions that the permission will be renewed every 5 years subject to the following conditions:

You have not become a financial burden on the Irish State.
You have not been investigated, indicted or convicted in relation to any criminal offence
in any jurisdiction.
Spend 1 day per year physically in Ireland

Now, these are the current guidelines. If I have held such a permission to enter/remain in Ireland for 10 years (2 renewals) without actually residing in the country except 1 day stays each year (due to my business commitments outside Ireland and the fact that my primary home isn't Ireland), but suddenly Irish policy changes, and they tell me to start residing in Ireland within x amount of years (say within 1 year or within 2 years or may be within 6 months?), or tell me that this was your last 5 year renewal after which you will have to physically stay in Ireland to maintain your permission to stay and further renewals, can I approach an Irish court to argue that I had the right to stay in Ireland without any conditions except the 3 conditions above, regardless of the policy changes of Ireland because I invested (and made decisions about it) based on the conditions provided at that time?
That is, are the conditions for renewal of the Immigrant Investor Programme (that are written in bold font) a good proof in a court to argue that no matter Ireland's policy changes, I entered the programme under those conditions and agreements and those conditions can't change for the people like me (who took the decision to choose Ireland because of the relaxed residency requirement)?
In simpler words, imagine that a mother promises her child that she will buy her ice creams on demand every year if he (her son) excels in his final exams this year. Assume that the lured son does excel. And now imagine that her mother buys him ice cream this year, but next year changes her mind and thinks that her child should excel again the next year for next years' ice creams (which were not part of the original deal). In law, are such changes allowed when someone was explicitly and in bold font, told that the only physical residence condition was once a year?
I want to know whether such changes/amendment of rules applied on people who were shown previous rules legit? If no, but if the Govt does apply it on me, can I approach a court to argue that I entered the Immigrant Investor Programme based on the conditions presented at that time and not based on the new rules?
PS: By conditions, I chiefly mean the 1 day per year residence requirement. This one is important to me as I have business and family outside Ireland, so if they say sometime in the future to choose between start residing in Ireland to preserve my residence status (while abandoning my life abroad) vs lose my residence status, I will feel being cheated by changing the original set of conditions and requirements that were shown to me.
I want to know whether such things are legally allowed or can I argue in a court on this matter? Can this be considered a legal breach of contract, for example?
Any help will be appreciated greatly. Thank you


texts: Can utilities refuse to do business with you?

texts: Can my electric or water company refuse to serve me? I have been doing research and have only found situations in which the bills aren't paid on time or at all and I don't care about that. Assuming the bills are all paid on time, can a utility company refuse me service for arbitrary reasons e.g. my political views?


texts: How can I release a work into the public domain?

texts: I written a small music composition.  I want to make it freely available and disclaim any copyright.  How does one release a work into the public domain?


texts: Do Directors serving at the pleasure of a specific class of investor owe fiduciary duties to other classes of investors?

texts: Suppose a company has five directors.  Two appointed by holders of common stock and three appointed by holders of preferred stock.  Do the directors appointed by the preferred stockholders have a fiduciary responsibility to all of the shareholders or just the preferred shareholders?  That is, can they act in the best interests of the preferred stockholder without regard to the interests of the common stockholders.


texts: Are property taxes attached to the property itself or the owners at the time?

texts:
Are the new owners of a property liable for taxes that accrue before they purchase it, or is this the responsibility of the previous owners?

How would a real estate buyer be protected against a surprise tax bill once the sale is done?


texts: Are jurors instructed to not be influenced by the emotions of the witnesses?

texts:
The 61 year old witness for the prosecution of the Floyd case broke down and cried uncontrollably.
Does the judge give instructions to the jurors that they cannot allow the emotions of the witnesses to influence their decision?


texts: My brother just passed away. He has a charge of sexual offender against a minor. He left behind a 4 year old son that I am trying to protect in the future. So if he looks his father up later in life he will not see what his father did. Can I request an expungement for this crime in the state of Maryland?


texts: Can only lawyers write DMCA takedown letters, or can anybody?

texts:
My friend and I have been debating whether a DMCA takedown request technically counts as a legal document, therefore requiring a lawyer to provide legal counsel for it. I understand that you are able to write it for yourself, but are you able to write it for others without being an attorney? There doesn't seem to be much online about this.

Edit: I've been notified that this may depend on the state; I live in the state of California.


texts:
My neighbor kissed my wife. I was pissed and wanted to punch him in his face. But I was able to suppress my anger.

If I did punch him, would that be okay? I saw people punch one another over this in movies. Kissing my wife is adultery right?


texts: What is the meaning of "full force" in a contract?

texts:
What is the meaning of "full force"? Here is an example of it used bellow. Does it still have the same meaning if "full force" is removed?

  The unenforceability of any provisions of this Lease will not affect
  the forceability of any other provision of this Lease.  Such other
  provisions remain in full force and effect.


texts: Can an employee of a non-profit sign CLA and contribute to open source project under a copyright of a for-profit

texts:
I am mostly thinking in the context of USA.
If there is a non-profit X 501(c)(3) with an employee A. Can this employee A contribute during work hours to an open source project which requires them to sign a CLA for contributions they are making to this open source project. This contribution is with full knowledge and approval by the non-profit itself, in fact, A is directed by the non-profit to do this.
This open source project is managed by an organization Y, which is a for-profit and it also holds copyright over the source code of the project (thus why they require a CLA to be signed), but the source code is available to the public under an open source license. But the for-profit Y also uses this code to provide for-profit services/products.
So in a way to me it looks like it should be reasonable to contribute, this is how open source works. But on the other hand it is assigning IP from non-profit to for-profit without for-profit paying for that. So I am not sure what to make of this.
There are also different possibilities what this open source project means to the non-profit (GitLab is used just an example, they are not really using CLAs):

It could be something which is directly aligned with the mission of the non-profit. For example, a non-profit which helps educators use GitLab to communicate with students through issues and comments and code snippets. They want to contribute a feature to improve something on  GitLab.
GitLab is just used by the non-profit internally for project management.

There are multiple types of CLAs (e.g., one when you assign your rights to the organization Y; one where you just give the organization Y full license to your contribution, but you keep the rights). Is there are difference between them related to this question?
There are different open source licenses out there. Does picking one or the other change anything in the context of this  question?


texts: Livestreaming a display of hypnotism to Britain from abroad? (Ref: Hypnotism Act 1952)

texts:
The British Hypnotism Act 1952, of which sections are variously in force in England and Wales and in Scotland, concerns demonstrations of hypnotism at "places licenced for public entertainment" and at other "places" to which "the public are admitted". In short,

it authorises local authorities to attach conditions to premises licences that regulate or prohibit hypnotism, and

it makes it compulsory for those who do stage public displays of hypnotism to obtain a licence.

(It also prohibits instances of the public "exhibition, demonstration or performance of hypnotism" on minors.)
Is it lawful, as far as the law in England and Wales and in Scotland is concerned, to conduct public displays of hypnotism (of adults) outside of Britain and to live-stream the displays to websites that people in Britain may access?


texts:
I have an idea for a website where users make financial commitments and want to discuss the enforceability of those commitments, as well as regulations on holding committed money - what kind of solicitor do I speak to and how do I find them?
Initially I just want to discuss my idea and get an idea on whether it could work but would like formal advice.


texts: Why can't lawyers lower their fees to match unmet demand, rather than leaving legal practice?

texts:
Benjamin Barton JD magna magna cum laude, 1996, University of Michigan. Glass Half Full: The Decline and Rebirth of the Legal Profession (2015). p. 49 Middle.

Please see the last two sentences pinpointed by the red arrow.

Why can't fees be lowered "enough on individualized, bespoke services
to meet the unmet need at an aﬀordable price"?
Why would lawyers "leave the practice altogether", "[b]efore these lawyers
lower their prices further they will"?


texts: Can a business (under an LLC designation) have un-paid labour?

texts:
My question is simple/straight forward (i hope). You may assume the business is for-profit, but I would love to know what the rules are for non-profit.
Here is a scenario just to give some layout/background:
Say Adam has created a business as an LLC (assumes USA). Say he has friends or family Eve and Noah who can help with the business. As the business is not yet earning money/profit, (and maybe never earns money/profit if it is eventually deemed a failed venture), he cannot pay them. Eve and Noah, (ideally) do not want to become 'members' as this may place in them the complications of managing and maintaining the LLC business documents of which they don't have the interest. They are willing to work for no pay until such a time the the business is making enough money/profit that they can be compensated as employees. Adam wants to know if this is legally possible and how he (Adam), Eve and Noah can come to a formal agreement or procedure to accomplish the same. Or whether Eve and Noad 'must' become members for them to work on the business without pay.
You can say that Noah and Eve are donation their 'time' and 'skills' instead of 'money'.


texts: Are the fonts that come with Ubuntu free for personal and commercial use? I tried Googling it but nothing came up.


texts: Implicit lottery: what if there is no prize?

texts:
I often receive emails asking me to do something in exchange of potentially getting some prize (e.g. Amazon Gift Card).

Example 1:

  A great bonus is that if you download Riffiti in the next 48 hours from receiving this email, you could win a $100 Amazon Gift Card.

Example 2:

  Attend the session this Thursday 3pm-5pm in 32-124. Refreshments will be
  served. You can also win a couple giftcards by responding via their google
  doc!

Example 3:

  The study involves completing a 20-45 minute online questionnaire. You will have the opportunity to enter a lottery to win a $250 Amazon.com gift card.

Example 4:

  Teams that come up with the best plan will be entered into a lottery to win
  an extra $20 Amazon gift card.

Example 5:

  Bring Your Own Mug and Win a $10 Gift Card from Flour - Everyone who brings their own mug and helps to reduce waste can enter a raffle for a $10 flour gift card.

Example 6:

  If you fill this form, we'll enter you in raffle for several $50 Amazon gift cards.

Are senders obliged to actually gave the announced prize to someone? Or can they simply have no prize at all?

Assumes that everything happens in the United States, and more specifically in California or in Massachusetts.


texts: Does the US constitution allow for a re-write?

texts:
Hypothetically...

Say I wanted to re-write the constitution of the United States. Not amend it, but completely start over. Could I do that within the law?

You've done it before, when the Articles of Confederation were replaced. Maybe I want to tidy away all the amended parts that no longer apply. Or maybe I have some nefarious motive. (Evil laugh.)

Would I need to pass The Last Amendment that states my new constitution is the constitution and I'd only need to persuade 38 states to agree?

Or, is there only scope for a series of amendments that can never change what came before, only effectively nullify it?