texts: Is offering uncapped access to certain services but not others by ISPs legal under EU net neutrality laws?

texts:
Some ISPs in Europe offer data plans that are capped at certain amount of GB per month.

But in this europa.eu page one can read that:

  The best effort internet is about the equal treatment of data traffic being transmitted over the internet, i.e. that the ‘best efforts’ are made to carry data, no matter what it contains, which application transmits the data (“application-agnosticism”), where it comes from or where it goes. The benefits of the best effort internet notably include the separation between application and network layers of the internet.

(emphasis added)

Is it actually legal under EU law to offer Internet services that do not treat all services/apps/websites equally when it comes to data caps?


texts: Is it legal to post contents of an email sent to me if I make everyone anonymous?

texts: I just want to post some screenshots of an email in a video to give my story context. I will use fake names for everyone and remove any personal information so everyone is anonymous. If the sender sees the video are they able to take legal action?


texts:
Is it illegal to sell something on craigslist without adding a regions value added tax?
Say for example GST is 10%, and I sell my bike for $100; do I technically have to charge $110, and send $10 to the government?


texts: In the US: Would it be illegal (maybe fraud) for a musician to fake their own death?

texts: I heard about someone who had to do with recording a Jerry Garcia solo album but he died right before it came out and this guy made TONS of money off of it. The Beatles also got a lot of attention when some paranoid guy decided Paul was dead. So my question is: would it be legal for someone to fake their own death (like through press releases and fake information sent to newspapers) to sell their records but then reveal it was fake a bit later?


texts: Posting pictures of a rude employee... legal?

texts: I’m curious as to what would the legalities be if I were to post a review of a local restaurant (negative) and include a photo I took at the time of the poor service that included the extremely rude employee working behind the counter... is that legal? The establishment does not care about my concerns so I wanted to post a detailed review but don’t want to be sued.


texts: If I have a EU research visa from one country can I start research activities in a different one?

texts:
I am Russian citizen who was working at a French University with a valid French permit of stay. I started working at a Portuguese University before my French permit of stay expired. After two month of working in Portugal they suddenly tell me that they can not pay those two months, because I don't have a Portuguese visa. I applied for the visa before coming to Portugal anyway, but due to crazy bureaucratic procedures in Portugal and technical issues I will only receive it tomorrow.
My question are: can they legally do this? If I have a valid researchers permit of stay and if I applied immediately for local documents as well, can I start working in a research institution of a different EU country directly? Is there a EU law that regulates this?
Thank you.


texts: "so long as you remain unmarried": Why a gratuitous promise in one fact pattern, but a contractual offer in another?

texts:
Paul Davies. JC Smith's The Law of Contract (2018 2 ed). pp. 75-76.

Can the two hypotheticals (orange and red) be distinguished? Why's the red a gratuitous promise but the orange an offer to contract?

I can't? Both stipulate £5K/year and the phrase "so long as you remain unmarried" The orange has "Please do not remarry", but this feels superfluous as  "so long as you remain unmarried" is already stipulated.


texts: Accidentally writing self in beneficiary signature

texts: My father-in-law who recently died accidentally wrote himself as the beneficiary for some investments many years ago. Now the company will not give his wife the money even though The Will says she is the beneficiary of everything. It was essentially a clerical error where he signed his own name by accident, is the firm partially responsible for not checking signatures, etc. A lawyer is charging between 6-9K to fix in probate. Is firm responsible/partially responsible since they are ultimately in charge.


texts: Is it still legal to include an invitation based service in a program after GDPR?

texts:
I just started a cross-platform mobile application within users could invite other people to join as new users. The invitation would require the existing user to enter the new user's name (not username) and email address (which are personal information).

I found another related question (GDPR Legislation and user invites by email) but in that case it's enough to store the (irreversible!) hash of the given email address. In my case I must store the name of the new user that just can't be hashed, since I'd like to display it for the existing users.

If this is not legal, are there any other ways to do something similar to this approach?


texts: Not depositing cash from business transactions

texts:
Is it legal, in the U.S., to not deposit cash proceeding from business transactions, such as real estate rentals or restaurants, so long as those monies are ultimately declared as income to the IRS, although there is no paper trail verifying it from a third party (a bank)?

In other words, are there laws that says cash proceeds, or a percentage thereof, must be deposited in a bank account to be used as official record for fiscal purposes?


texts: Divorce case with split custody: Age of child when he/she can be moved out of of state without consent of other parent

texts:
This question is about the case of relocating from one U.S. state (Georgia) to another (Florida) for employment reasons in a situation where

The person relocating is a divorcee (a single parent mom).
The divorce case was initiated and has been handled in the court in
Georgia. The settlement (back in 2005) was a split custody where the father has been obligated to pay a small amount of child support each month.

In this case the divorcee would prefer to relocate with the child; the child is currently 12 but it is not clear on whether the child wants to stay with the mom or with the dad (who remarried a couple of years ago).

The question stems from the split custody as that would make it difficult for the mom to live in south Florida.

The question is, is there a minimum age at which point the child can decide which parent he or she stays with?


texts: Tax implications when assigning a patent application to a non-US company?

texts:
When a US company transfers ownership for a pending patent application via an assignment to a company outside the US, say for 1 Dollar, are there any tax implications to worry about?

As for the 1 Dollar, I suppose at the pending stage, the argument can be made that the patent application has no substantial value yet and is potentially worthless (and potentially rejected).


texts: In the United States,what does it mean for a website to keep records for legal compliance? And what is typically kept?

texts:
Mediafire claims they delete or do not store Logs of who access your account in their data retention policy. However, in there data retention policy they state they keep records for legal compliance for up to 10 years. What does a website typically keep for legal compliance? For example, in their TOS they state:

"Information about your devices plus your browser information, browser history, IP address, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) you use, your geolocation and system configuration information is recorded."

If they Claim to keep no logs of who access your account then what's kept for legal compliance?


texts: Is unintentional one-time bug abuse illegal?

texts:
Concrete examples :

Someone making API requests through a banking platform, withdrew many times in succession, and through some miracle bug they all went through.

Someone unaffiliated with a business, deletes a its entire database with an unintentional request.

Someone purchases twenty video game Steam codes at -99% through one transaction.

etc.. All of these are one-off mistakes, where a bug does exist, yet it is unintentionally used in a way where this single error causes notable damage to the business. Are they legally allowed to confiscate any financial gain the user has made? Maybe even sue if the confiscation is not directly feasible? Does the user have no right to any of the gains made through this error? And are they liable for any damages caused if any?


texts:
There's a videogame called The World Is Yours.

Is that copyrighted? can I use it in my game I'm making? (not in the title).

Not giving much information about my game, it will be about finding pieces of a code and when the pieces are collected the code is "The World is Yours"

Also, is there any way I can check if something is copyrighted?


texts: Can i have the police impound a car which is obstructing my driveway?

texts:
a few days ago someone parked their car across my driveway. between my fence and the road there is about 5 meters of land including a foot path and gutter/runoff ditch. my road extends from my front gate and over a pipe which is meant to preserve the gutter's flow.

this was late at night and the car sat there for well over an hour. luckily they moved on however if they remained there I would have had problems getting out for work as because of how deep this gutter/run off ditch is.

now I know that in Australia if they were on my property I could charge them for trespass but the 5 meters of land outside my front fence, despite the fact I am the one who gets fined if the grass isn't kept short and I have to maintain my driveway, belongs to the local council.

I am wondering, if a car parked itself in a way in which impeded me being able to leave, regardless if they were on my property or council land (ie. parked on the nature strip but blocking my driveway) could I then call the police to impound the car?


texts: Does receiving a stipend for participating in GSoC constitute self-employment?

texts:
I participated in Google Summer of Code and received a stipend from Google. I worked with volunteer mentors associated with free/open source projects not associated with Google in any direct way.
Google is clear that there was not an employee/employer relationship with them:

Is GSoC considered an internship, a job, or any form of employment?
No. GSoC is an activity that the student performs as an independent developer for which they are paid a stipend.

As far as I could determine, the form of self-employee closest to describing a GSoC student is "independent contractor". However, I am uncertain that it fits completely. The definition I found says:

The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.

Google did not really control or direct the results or anything about the work.

Is participating Google Summer of Code considered "self-employment" under US tax law?


texts: What can i do if my GDPR requests are being ignored?

texts:
I have requested my personal data removal from one shady company that has gotten to my email somehow.

They said they've complied, but i am still getting newsletters from them.

What can i do as a consumer now? What authorities can i contact if my requests are being ignored? Can i report the company somewhere?


texts: Is it illegal to advertise another entity's product?

texts:
I'm a retailer of products. One product in particular needs more attention, but the manufacturing company doesn't advertise their products in the media which my customers reside (mainly YouTube). I would like to draw more attention to the product, and create an advertisement featuring the product, but spin it as "you can buy this at my website".

Is it illegal to feature another entity's product in my advertisement, given that:

They do not have a trademark
They do not have any patents on the product
They do have a brand name
The entity is headquartered in the UK and I am in the US


texts:
Creative Commons offers a series of licenses, some of which allow people to use your images commercially, while others prohibit commercial usage.

I have some images that lie somewhere in between. I don't want people selling them as postcards or putting them on mugs, T-shirts, etc. for sale. However, I do want people to feel free to post my images in media (including for-profit books) and on the Internet (as long as the images properly credit me, with a link to my website).

Since Creative Commons doesn't offer this type of license (as far as I know), what are my options?

Can I simply post my terms on my website, like this?...

  You can use this image for personal use but no commercial uses except
  that you can include it in media (including books) and on the
  Internet (as long as you include the proper credit and link to my
  website).

It might be nice to have my images indexed by Creative Commons, but I haven't been able to find a license that meets my needs.


texts: Netflix through a VPN and original account location

texts:
I'm sharing a Netflix account with my brother who currently lives in the USA but since I'm not the library is limited somehow.

I could use a VPN but I'm not sure whether the fact that my brother is actually paying for the USA content makes it legal for me. I'm not even sure if it's illegal in the first place since I live in a country where piracy is literally part of everyday life.

The "why I'm asking this question?" is because it's actually against their terms, from what I read on the internet, but as I said my brother is the owner and is paying as a USA resident.


texts: Can one claim adverse possession by simply securing an existing boundary in England?

texts:
A small (.5Acre) plot of land sits adjacent to our property boundary, officially designated "grazing land" it is in practice wild scrubby, sometime-flooded ground that sits between our garden and the road in the countryside.

We would love to use it so we can keep it tidy and plant screening but it appears to own to our local county council and their stated policy is not to sell land* council-owned land, which would be our preferred option as it is worth very little.

We had been considering the long game and adverse possession claims. It is already fenced with an unlocked gate, so it seems adding another fence would be rather foolish.

If we lock the existing gate and then start tending to the land and boundary - keeping the fence in good repair, planting and weeding, etc - would this be recognised as maintaining a private boundary?

*In fact their policy is they will only sell land designated as surplus, however you cannot request or notify land for consideration which means in practice small, low value plots are never going to be processed as such


texts: Claiming costs if a faulty product causes property damage

texts:
I received a faulty sports product which broke during first use. The breakage was caused by incorrect fasteners being supplied with the product. The incident in question caused significant damage to another piece of equipment, in addition to a small injury (broken toe).

Is it reasonable for me to claim repair costs from the retailer/manufacturer of product that caused the issue?


texts: Any law that requires you to allow police to photograph you in public?

texts:
Lets say you are in public, and the Police approach you. You do not wish to speak to them and want to walk away. They detain you for the purpose of taking a photo of you but you have not committed a crime and they won't state whether you are the suspect of a crime.

In the U.S. in any state, is there a law that states you must allow them to photograph you?
Can you be charged with obstruction if you actively prevent them from taking the photo by covering your own face?


texts:
I was asked to agree to the following employment agreement and I have concerns:

I acknowledge that all of my work product, including materials, ideas, and other property, whether or not copyrightable, which I create with myself or with others relating to my employment with the company is "work made for hire"  for the company within the meaning of the US Copyright Act of 1976 and for all others purposes, and I hereby assign in perpetuity all of my rights in any such work product which may not be work for hire, exclusively to the company.

I will likely file for several patents next year. The subject matter of these patents has nothing to do with the type of business performed by the company who extended me the offer. Furthermore, I would be a seasonal employee.
Do I have reason to be concerned about them taking control of any of my ideas?
Also, I understand broadly what work product is, but I do not understand what would constitute work product and yet not be considered as work for hire.


texts: Does one-way written communication bear legal standing?

texts:
This question is based on this question over on Workplace SE.  I am neither the OP of that question nor in any way related to the OP, I'm asking this question out of personal curiosity.  In brief, the situation is that the OP has a medical issue, but his boss (verbally) threatened to fire him if he went to the doctor.  Various answers in that thread are suggesting getting written proof that the boss verbally denied the trip to the doctor to use in court later.

Now, here's my question: Clearly, this boss is a jerk.  Also, this boss is probably not an idiot.  If he's being asked to provide in writing something that he said verbally, he's going to know something's up.  Furthermore, he's probably smart enough to know that what he is doing is of questionable legal standing, so getting the boss to provide a written statement that the doctor visit was denied is easier said (written?  Because webforum?  Hah!) than done.

A solution to the above problem was suggested in a comment on an answer:

  In the very likely case that you submit your request in writing and your boss replies verbally, write back to your boss confirming his denial. "This message confirms that on Tuesday 10am you verbally denied my urgent request for time off at X." Send a Cc to HR and Bcc yourself at a personal email address. Every time you have a "conversation" about this issue verbally, confirm back in writing.

Assume that the boss does not respond to any of these emails to confirm or deny the content as stated, and the "chain" of emails, such as it is, is completely one-sided, with the OP emailing his boss various things of this nature.  My question is:

To what degree are such emails admissable in court as evidence, and what weight do they carry?

I'm tagging this question as united-states because the original question on Workplace SE was about the USA, but insight into the legal systems of other countries would also be interesting for me, just out of curiosity.  I am Canadian myself, so insight into the legal system in Canada would be of particular interest (I am not in such a situation myself, I just find it interesting out of curiosity).


texts: Does flashing high beams give police probable cause to stop a vehicle?

texts:
Is it illegal to flash high beams to signal other cars?

If police see you doing so is it a valid pretext for a traffic stop?


texts: Is the owner of a property liable for injuries sustained by an intruder? (UK)

texts:
I have heard that the owner of a property may be liable for injuries sustained by an intruder. I am referring to cases in which injuries were not inflicted willfully by the owner (e.g. in self-defence) and where the owner would be liable had the same injury been sustained by a non-intruder. For example, a burglar breaks into a private house, and gets an electric shock (requiring hospital treatment) from some exposed wiring that was installed by the owner. Clearly the mitigating factor from the owner's perspective is that the intruder shouldn't have been there in the first place. Is the owner liable in this situation?

Bonus question: Does it make any difference when the injury was sustained on public land? E.g. in the course of stealing a park bench, a thief injures himself on a rusty nail protruding from the arm of the bench. Would the council be liable for his injuries on the basis that the same injury could have been sustained under normal (non-burglary) circumstances?


texts:
I'm reading a essay making claims about the case Australian Mabo case from 1992.

The essay states:

  ...the High Court (notwithstanding finding that the
  Aboriginal people of Australia were the
  traditional owners of the land), ...

My understanding is that the case provides for Aboriginal people who have 'a continuing connection with the land' to make a claim in Native title. I don't believe that's the same as saying "the Aboriginal People were the traditional owners of the land."

My question is: Does Mabo v the State of Queensland (1992) 175 CLR 1 state that "The Aboriginal people we the traditional owners of the land"?


texts: When two parties end up in a dispute about what was agreed to in a written contract, how do courts generally resolve that? How do they determine if a provision is ambiguous? What evidence is used to determine the meaning of a provision if it is found to be ambiguous?


texts: Can an employer require attendance at a holiday party over the employee's religious objections?

texts:
Note: This is related to the question asked at Mandatory participation in workplace holiday potluck, but the issues are not exactly the same, as in that question the issue was not religion, but just that the OP does not like potlucks.

Is there any case law or legal precedent regarding the right of an employee to decline to attend a "holiday party" at the workplace on religious grounds?

Variations on this question:

A workplace hosts a "Christmas party". Can a Jewish employee decline to attend on the grounds that he or she does not celebrate Christmas?
If yes, suppose the same workplace rebrands the celebration as a "Holiday party" and adds a menorah to the decorations.  Can the Jewish employee still decline to attend on the grounds that it is still, in essence if not in name, a Christmas party?
If the employee observes the Jewish dietary laws and therefore cannot eat any of the food at the party, does that make a difference?
If the answer is that "holiday party" is inclusive by nature and therefore one cannot claim a religious reason not to attend, what about a member of a religion that does not observe a winter holiday at all, like Jehovah's Witnesses or Muslims?


texts: Examples of Employer breaching employee contract

texts:
I just read my contract, it states a lot of how can I, as an employee breach a contract like, sudden resignation within an specific amount of years or applying to work on competitor company within 12 months.
In the absence of clause on how an employer can break  your contract, what can I use as reference? What are examples of employer breaching employee contract?


texts: Managing member can not speak for their LLC in court?

texts:
Edit: I feel like there is a misunderstanding in my question. She is the business owner and really the only representative of the business; but still the judge said that a person can not speak for the business and cited some statute (i still havent gotten that). Is this possible and how is it possible?

So long story short, I have a friend that owns a LLC. She was sued by someone and instructed to appear in court (to represent the llc by the way). She was unable to appear in court and "appeared" over the phone (not sure if that makes a difference). After the opposing council said their piece she began to say her piece and the judge instructed her to stop talking and that she "could not speak on behalf of the LLC."
The judge also cited some statute, but I don't have that right now. (i will find out what it is later when i see her in person)

So I guess a couple linked questions; FYI we live in Wyoming (if that is important)

Is there a statute that can keep the llc representative from speaking for it?

How are you supposed to defend the llc that clearly can not speak for itself?


texts:
Let us say that a religious group (I will call them the Presleytarian Church of Elvis) somehow becomes so strongly disliked that Congress passes a law which outlaws the sect.
The leaders of the PCoE challenge the new law in court, and it turns out that one of the judges selected to hear an appeal of the case is himself a Presleytarian.
Is the judge required to recuse himself?

Edit:
I fully understand that such a law is an obvious violation of the First Amendment and that while there may be judges in the US who detest religion, none of them would allow such a law to stand. I only envisioned such a law as an example of a situation where a judge would be expected to recuse himself/herself from a case based on being affected by the law itself, and not because of any relationship with the parties to the case.
Also, I have nothing against Elvis. Or his fans.


texts: In Victoria Australia can you stand out the front of somebody's house and record what is happening inside?

texts:
Generally, in Victoria Australia, anything that occurs in public is open to being recorded by anyone (To my knowledge).  However, if you take a video camera or camera phone and aim it through the curtains and record that would that breach any regulations/laws?

Does it matter if you are present? does it matter what you do with it?


texts: Can persons holding dual/multiple citizenship obtain multiple social security incomes?

texts:
Say a person is citizen of Country A. Person applies for citizenship of other countries B,C,D where Country A's citizens are eligible to apply for dual citizenship.

Person A reaches the age or conditions that make the person eligible for Social Security. Can such a person technically, or by craft obtain Social Security income from multiple nations ?

Yes/No ?
If No,what are the general principles of law to regulate misuse/abuse of SS income. Assume jurisdiction US, UK,Canada. US Citizens also hold dual citizenship with Canada, some such persons are also UK citizens.


texts: Explanatory vs Exploratory evidence in legal proceedings

texts:
In academia, there is an important distinction between exploratory analyses of data and confirmatory analyses.  Careers have been ruined by researchers passing off the one as the other.

Since the gathering and introduction of evidence in legal proceedings is quite similar to the procedure in scientific circles, I was wondering if there are rules and procedures to safeguard against potential abuse (deliberate or accidental) of exploratory evidence.

A simple legal analogue of the case above might be, for example: Alice is picked up due to a separate investigation of her drug dealer whose phone contained drug-related texts to Alice.
 Her phone is confiscated, and its contents dredged for signs of anything and everything.
 The phone is found to contain illegal pornographic content.
 Questioning of friends and relatives reveal that they have a suspicion that Alice might be involved in the creation of illegal pornographic content.
 Contrast this with Bob, whose friends and relatives approach police with a suspicion that Bob might be involved in the creation of illegal pornographic content.
 Bob is arrested and his phone is searched for the illegal content hypothesized by his friends and family, which is found to reside on Bob's phone.
 In both scenarios, the evidence against Alice and Bob is ostensibly identical with the single exception that the evidence against Bob is confirmatory.
 Thus, although the situation looks grim for both, since the evidence against Bob is confirmatory, it might be considered stronger.

Would anyone be inclined to press such a distinction in court proceedings?


texts:
Is consent required by law to take a picture or to record audio / video of a conference talk?

Assume that the conference does not explicitly prohibit unauthorized audio and visual recordings of the presentations, and ignoring ethical/political/any other non-legal issues.

I am mostly interested in the following locations:

California, United States
Massachusetts, United States
Paris, France
Seoul, South Korea


texts:
If someone incites donations by including donors into a prize draw, is it still donation? Or is it contract? Gambling maybe?
Passport: Back to Our Roots is doing that: "Everyone who donates will be entered into a prize draw to win entry for themselves and a friend". Basically, if you want to attend a gig you can try winning "entry" by entering the draw — which you can do by either donating, or "for free by post".
The hitch is that the gigs "will happen when it’s safe for gigs to happen properly" — which may happen later than sooner, if at all.
Does that sound like a scheme
for gig organisers to avoid
having to refund / being held to account? Is it legal-proof?
If someone wins entry (having paid a "donation") but the organisers never deem it safe for the gig to happen, will the donor be entitled to a refund?


texts: Would you be allowed to get a government ID if you had no fingerprints?

texts:
Would you be allowed to get an ID sans prints if you did not have fingerprints because you'd lost your hands in an accident or something? What if a construction worker who had accidentally sanded his fingerprints off tried to get an ID?
Would it not be illegal to refuse a man an essential piece of documentation simply because he is disabled and has no hands?


texts: What legal responsibilities does a corporation have in this situation?

texts:
Sorry for the vague title, but the situation is too complicated to sum up into a short blurb.

Among my hobbies, I play the card game Magic: The Gathering, and recently there was a high profile story about a professional Magic player (in that his day job is literally just playing Magic, mostly streaming) who got into some legal trouble with the company.  If you would like additional context on what I'm about to present, Google the name "Owen Turtenwald".  I'm a bit curious about how his situation would play out; I've read various Reddit posts and so on on the topic, but I'm interested in thoughts of people who actually know what they're talking about rather than Reddit randoms.

My understanding of the facts of the case are as follows:

There is a girl named Mary Rourke who seems to (best I can tell from reading Reddit/Twitter/etc) have had some sort of sexual relationship with Owen.
Mary accused Owen of sexual assault (or harassment, or something of that nature), without proof (or at least without proof in public; perhaps she has proof and has shown it to people on a need-to-know basis, but at least in the public realm there is no proof)
Owen was licensed by Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC), a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc, as a member of the "Magic Pro League" (MPL), which in addition to the prestige of that association also has a very sizable monetary value (and additional real monetary value providing Owen does some other things which he can opt into if he wants).  You can Google for the details of precisely what the deal is, but the bare minimum is a $75,000 USD/year contract for playing Magic in its various digital forms on stream regularly, plus additional perks.
Due to the accusations by Mary, WotC terminated Owen's contract as a member of the MPL, and furthermore I believe Owen has been banned from playing Magic at most high-profile events (I am not sure of that last part).  Keep in mind this is Owen's full-time job, he's not by any means a "casual" player.
As of the moment, Mary hasn't presented any evidence to back up her claims against Owen (as far as I know), it's simply a he-said-she-said situation.
Nobody except Mary in this situation has formally accused Owen of any misconduct.  Neither Hasbro nor WotC has made an official public statement on the matter whatsoever except to state the consequences for Owen (e.g. expulsion from the MPL)
Apparently (I read on Reddit), WotC presented Owen with a settlement agreement including damages for defamation.  None of the negative consequences of the ordeal (e.g. expulsion from the MPL) were reversed.

Question: Given the above situation (and whatever additional information you can find on Google which I may have missed in my assessment), if Owen were to tell WotC to take their settlement offer and shove it, what might be the legal consequences for WotC/Hasbro?  Would Owen be able to sue them, and on what grounds?  What would be required of WotC/Hasbro to defend themselves from such a lawsuit?  What might be Mary's responsibility in all of this?


texts: Who in NH can legally bear weapons near school?

texts:
Can any citizen of NH legally carry any knife, gun (black powder or modern) or any weapon on a sidewalk next to a any school in NH? I know on duty police officers can carry weapons, and there are exceptions for people who have authorization to give presentations and other exceptional circumstances. I'm not interested in an affirmative defense. I want to know if there is a way to transport a weapon in a school zone for an adult under everyday circumstances that allows the weapon to be accessible as opposed to locked in the trunk and disassembled.

Is there any adult of the private sector who can gain the "privilege" of the second amendment within a school zone? According to the article on school zones by USCCA we are led to believe there is no federal law prohibiting licensed gun owners from exercising the 2nd amendment right. I don't know if there are other federal restrictions like if such a person can carry openly or concealed, if the restriction applies more strictly to muskets and other black-powder-only weapons, if knives are still illegal to carry normally on a sidewalk near the school, etc. Also, the article doesn't clarify if NH has any laws against bearing arms on or near schools.

Another way to ask the question is what can a person with a concealed carry permit carry everyday, and how can it be carried, on a walk along a public sidewalk next to a school?


texts: If you are arrested, can the police search the digital contents of your smartphone?

texts: I've heard that they collect the IMEI number. Can you refuse consent to this and what happens if you don't unlock it? Further, are they allowed to look into your messages? Further what happens if they open it for one purpose and then catch notice incidentally of some incriminating information? Can that be used against one?


texts:
I know I need to have a mandatory EULA accepted before allowing users onto my system.

Simply recording information about the user and having a database column with "accepted" doesn't seem like it would act as proof someone actually accepted the terms before use.

Someone could just claim my system never presented them with any EULA, and they never agreed to such terms. Seems this would be a "your word against mine" sort of thing.

How do I go about proving a user accepted my terms before using the system?


texts: Tipping competing salon that unjustifiably sued us to IRS for misclassifying their former employees?

texts:
We are being sued by a competing business salon that in complaint filed with court alleges that their "former employees" conspired with us in stealing trade secrets (a.k.a. customer contact list). In reality their former employees are just our tenants and they will give us 1099 form for fixed rents that we collected. We don't share customers or collect commissions.

Now it turns out that the former employer of our current tenants was giving 1099 and not w-2 forms to them. And probably still is giving 1099 to remaining employees. Yet in court document openly calls them "Employees" and not "Independent contractors".

Is there a chance that IRS may look in such cases?
What is the proper way to start process?
Can this tipping be done anonymously?
Does IRS provide awards to tipsters?
Anything that can go wrong with this idea?

P.S. I am not looking for legal advice.


texts:
Is email verification for account creation in violation of GDPR?

I am creating a new website, and my account creation is incredibly simple, consisting of username, password (stored as hash), and email.

Email is verified at the creation process and is used for password recovery and that is it. Someone had said I may want to look at GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and that I may be violating it, opening myself up to liability.

Now, I feel that this is not the case, although I may indeed be wrong. The real question is, where is this line drawn? How is it that this could be illegal (like not stating why I need the email address?) and what can be done if this IS illegal to correct it?

I was not 100% sure where to post this, so I hope this was the correct place if not, I will freely move it/repost it if you think it is better suited elsewhere.

Thank you for reading. Reading about the GDPR is interesting to say the least, as a consumer I love it, as a novice part-time developer I am beyond perplexed by it.


texts: Is it legal for a parent in Florida to remove their minor child's doors and install a surveillance camera looking into the bathroom and bedroom?

texts: Is it legal for a parent to take off a 15 year old's bathroom and bedroom doors and place a camera that looks into the bathroom and bedroom?


texts: Is it legal to own or operate a non-CA vehicle brought into CA?

texts:
When a person moves to California from another state, and brings their vehicle with them, are they required to register the vehicle in California? Or do they have the option of extending the registration of their vehicle with their home state?

According to pages of the CA DMV:

New vehicles bought outside California must be registered in CA
Unregistered vehicles must be registered within a few days of establishing CA residency
Driving a vehicle with expired registration, whether with CA or another state, is unlawful

However, it is unclear to me what happens with old vehicles. Let's say someone lives in Arizona, buys a car there, registers it with Arizona for several years and has Arizona plates. This person then moves to California and obtains a California Driver's License. Do they have the option to simply extend the AZ registration of their car, while driving the car in CA? Or are they required to get CA plates soon after they become a CA resident (by getting a CA DL)?


texts: Are there any HIPAA like technical requirements in EU for developing health related web software?

texts:
It looks like in the USA developers adhere to HIPAA standards when developing and hosting health-related software. But I can't find anything similar to the EU. GDPR is all about being transparent and asking for consent and there nothing about any technical requirements that I must follow legally.

Does that mean I don't need all these expensive HIPAA hosting solutions? And can just get away with a GDPR compliant approach?

Maybe, there is another HIPAA like standard for the EU? I'd love to read about it.

My goal is to make sure our customers feel safe sharing health-related data with us through our web application. This web application collects some health-related data, stores it and analyses it. Everything will be done through the website (Wordpress based).


texts:
In World War II, Executive Order 9066 suspended basic rights of
  Japanese Americans - even people whose loyalty to the United States
  was never questioned, though the government feared the group as a
  whole might contain some spies - and led to a lot of people (>100K)
  being rounded up and kept at internment camps. Korematsu v. United
  States ruled this was constitutional.

  Today, in the "War on Terror," at least one politician can make
  surprisingly strong statements about plans for negative treatment
  against large groups of people (e.g. Muslims) because of concerns that
  a small minority of them might be radical enough to kill a bunch of
  people, and [the politician can] remain surprisingly popular.

What, if any, modern-day obstacles are in place that would nullify the same or materially same executive order?  This link indicates: "The Court would then have to adhere to, reconcile with, or overrule Korematsu & Hirabayashi." However, it does not state that there this is the only obstacle and hence the question


texts: Copyright implications for developing/marketing a 3rd party accessory?

texts:
If Chinese company ABC has an established brand for their product, "The Widget", and American company XYZ makes an add-on or modification for that product and sells said add-on as "The Widget Improver", with or without reference to ABC, is there copyright implications?

I felt XYZ was enhancing and benefiting ABC, but someone today suggested I may have a problem as the name insinuates "The Widget" is inferior as-is, and also copyright infringement since "The Widget" is in XYZ's product name and, specifically, because XYZ's product specifically functions due to the "The Widget" being in the marketplace.

I could use specific names and examples but I wasn't sure what is expected on this site.

I found this article, which sort of addresses my question and suggests that a license agreement is necessary.  But is it really necessary, or only necessary from ABC's (and that author's) point of view?


texts: Can a person who has been pardoned still be held liable for the same offense in a civil court?

texts:
This answer indicates that accepting, for example, a presidential pardon, is considered an admission of guilt.
If a person were to accept such a pardon, can they then still be held liable in a civil court for the same offense they were pardoned for? It would seem that the act of accepting the pardon could then be used as evidence in such a trial.


texts: Do certain US notaries have to identify a person taking some types of oaths?

texts:
Some US states have passed the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA). The section numbering and exact wording will vary from state to state, but the linked proposed version states in section 2:

  (5) “Notarial act” means an act,...The term includes taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification on oath or affirmation...."

Later, Section 5, "REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN NOTARIAL ACTS." states

  (a) A notarial officer who takes an acknowledgment of a record shall determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual, that the individual appearing before the officer and making the acknowledgment has the identity claimed and that the signature on the record is the signature of the individual.

There is similar language for a verification of a statement on oath or affirmation and witnessing or attesting to a signature, but no language requiring a notary who administers an oath or affirmation.

My reading of this is that, as most Americans are accustomed to, a notary must establish the identity of a person giving an acknowledgement. The long-standing custom in many states (that will come as a shock to many Americans) that a notary need not establish the identity of a person who takes an oath or affirmation is retained. The exception is verification on oath or affirmation, which means swearing or affirming that a certain written statement is true.

Examples of oaths that are not verifications on oath or affirmation, and which would not require identifying the person, would be oaths of office, promises about future behavior, or oaths before oral testimony.

One of the states that adopted RULONA, Oregon, published a notary guide which has a different reading. On page 26 it states "Make a careful identification of the signer." There is no qualification about which notarial acts require identification, and which don't.

My reason for asking is that RULONA has been introduced in the legislature in my state, Vermont, and I have been in contact with the responsible committees about various problems with the way the Vermont version was written.

My question is whether, in RULONA states, oaths and affirmations that are not verifications require the notary to establish the identity of the person taking the oath or affirmation?


texts: I have been under cyberstalking. But it is very difficult to prove the source rigorously given that the sender can fake the header information. Is it possible to report the stalking to the police?


texts: Obtaining British citizenship through naturalization as EEA citizen

texts:
I am Lithuanian (EEA European Economic Area Citizen) and have lived in UK for 5 years. My wife is Lithuanian too. First proof of me being in UK is my NIN appointment (I had to be present in UK) that was on 1st of November 2010. I have worked in UK since (without more than 3 week breaks), own my house in UK, second child was born here.

Based on information on gov.uk I have been living in UK for 5 years and this allows me to apply for citizenship. (I qualify on other points too, passed the Language and Live in UK tests).

  There are different ways to become a British citizen. The most common is called ‘naturalisation’.

  You can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation if:

  you’re 18 or over
  you’re of good character, eg you don’t have a serious or recent criminal record, and you haven’t tried to deceive the Home Office or been involved in immigration offences in the last 10 years
  you’ll continue to live in the UK
  you’ve met the knowledge of English and life in the UK requirements
  you meet the residency requirement

  And you must usually have:

  lived in the UK for at least the 5 years before the date of your application
  spent no more than 450 days outside the UK during those 5 years
  spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
  been granted indefinite leave to stay in the UK (or permanent residence if you’re an EEA national) - this means there’s no specific date that you have to leave
  had indefinite leave to stay in the UK for the last 12 months (or permanent residence if you’re an EEA national)
  not broken any immigration laws while in the UK

Since citizenship application fee is hefty (~£1k) I figured to apply using NCS service. I live in Hampshire so I went to Hampshire nationality checking website and there requirements differ from those on gov.uk.

According to Hampshire council:

  EEA National applications must be submitted with documentary evidence of your residence during the qualifying period of either 6 years, or 5 years if married to a British Citizen.

This (in my eyes) is conflicting information between gov.uk and local authority.

How long does one have to live in UK to apply for citizenship via naturalization if he is EEA citizen?


texts: Can a landlord refuse my request for rental because of my fluency in the local language

texts:
Summary

I live in Czech Republic and during my search for a new flat, a landlord refused to rent me the flat because I am not fluent enough in the local language.
Is this a legitimate reason for refusing to rent a flat ?

Full story

I have been living in Czech Republic for several years, I am a foreigner from another EU country with a right of living in Czech Republic without a visa.

Currently looking for a flat, I visited a nice flat that I wanted to rent. I agreed with the real estate agent to rent it, all our discussion have been in English as my proficiency in Czech cannot allow me to fully converse with him in the local language. The real estate agent gave me his approval and before signing the contract he told me he had to ask the landlord if it was fine with him too.

After a few days, the real estate agent wrote me an email stating that the flat would not be rented to me because they want to rent to people speaking Czech and found another person matching this criteria.

I quote:

  "They prefered [the other clients] because they were czech speaking."

This does sound a bit odd to me professionally, but also got me thinking if this was a legitimate reason to refuse to rent a flat to somebody.

Under Czech and EU law, is it a legitimate reason to turn down a rental request because I do not speak the local language ?

Nota Bene: I am just curious about the state of the law in Czech Republic and European Union regarding this matter, I will not be taking this case to court in any sort.


texts: Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) is unsecular? (currently trending in india)

texts:
India considers themself a secular nation.

  It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 by providing a path to Indian
  citizenship for members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and
  Christian religious minorities, who had fled persecution from
  Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014. Muslims
  were not given such eligibility. The act was the first instance
  of religion being overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under
  Indian nationality law.

There is a lot of protest going in India against this law. you can read more about the law here (wiki link).

Most people are saying it is religious discrimination and it violates Article 14.

The government is saying it is for the persecuted minorities of those countries three countries and it is not related to Indian Muslims. people belong to other religions are facing persecution in those countries. They are also ignoring the fact that Muslims religion also has a different caste-like Shia Muslims, Ahmadiyyas, etc and they are also facing persecution. First of all, it will affect Indians because all those who get Indian citizenship with the help of this law will able to get benefits from all government policies.

India shares a border with other countries too like Sri-lanka, Myanmar, China, Nepal but they are only picking Muslims majority countries in this law.

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had said in Geneva that it is "concerned" that the CAA is "fundamentally discriminatory in nature".

Government of India still haven’t mend any rules and regulation plus procedure on How they will go ahead with CAA. The Supreme Court of India has given a deadline of 22nd Jan 2020 to HMA to give the brief regarding the same.

After going through the brief if Judiciary finds out that it's violating any rights of the Constitution of India than they have a right to scrap this law.

they are saying it will not affect Indians but they are also going to launch NRC (National register of citizen) which is also considered as a major issue because according to NRC you cannot be a citizen of India any more if you are categorized as a doubtful citizen. you can also become a doubtful citizen because of spelling mistakes in your documents.

But Speaking of NRC it is totally waste of money because if there comes out some illegal immigrants with no proper documents it would be really difficult for the Government to prove other countries these people belong to you and take back, so they will be sent into detention camps and in this detention camps those refugees will have free shelter and food which will be burn from the taxpayer accounts which only round off to 6.8 Crore people who are just 5% of the population (Yes these are the numbers which actually pay taxes in their ITR) which will affect our economy really worse and our economy is not at all in good shape. So the government if want to bring NRC then they have to find the best and cost-effective measure and resources, because NRC all along in Assam just cost roughly around 1300 crore. So just imagine how much will it cost in the entire country.


texts: Are there different penalties for crimes against a PCSO as opposed to a police officer?

texts:
A person has recently been arrested for the murder of a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in Kent, England making me wonder:
Is the murder/assault/other crimes against a PCSO subject to the same enhanced sentencing guidelines as against a police officer, or is it simply treated as an assault on a public employee (like an ambulance drivers)?  Especially regarding murder sentencing/whole life terms, which have special police enhancements: does police include PCSOs?


texts: When translating the law, who ensures that the wording does not change the meaning of the law?

texts:
Background
The United States has no official language and has Federal Law based off the Constitution and derived from the English System.  Most of the Law in the United States is written in English, since most people in the United States speak English. However, there are bound to be people that do not speak English and need to understand how the law applied to them.  Thus, the law needs to be translated into different languages now and again for situations such as someone who does not understand English.
However, in the process of translation, small things like punctuation and order of clauses can drastically change how the force of law operates.  For example, he part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that got struck down was influenced by a specific interpretation of an ambiguous semicolon:

The Supreme Court shall have [original] jurisdiction over all cases of a civil nature where a state is a party, ... And shall have exclusively all such jurisdiction of suits or proceedings against ambassadors, or other public ministers, .... And the trial of issues in fact ... shall be by jury. The Supreme Court shall also have appellate jurisdiction from the circuit courts and courts of the several states, in the cases herein after specially provided for; and shall have power to issue ... writs of mandamus, in cases warranted by the principles and usages of law, to any courts appointed, or persons holding office, under the authority of the United States.
— Judiciary Act of 1789, Section 13

Question
Given the real ramifications of potentially erroneous punctuation, and the inevitability that laws will need to be translated, who ensures that the translation of a law does not change its meaning?


texts: Is it legal and what are liabilities for a freelancer/contractor to be responsible for employees and equipment?

texts:
This is in India. If the bosses of a startup go out of state on business purposes, would they legally be able to delegate responsibility of their office premises to a freelancer who is there to build software for them? Or, should they only delegate it to an employee of theirs, because a freelancer cannot be held responsible for damages of any kind that arise during that period?

Basically, work will go on as usual. The office consists of permanent non technical employees and interns, but the bosses delegate the responsibility to the freelancer because he was a former employee and they trust him.
What if somebody steals equipment while the bosses are away?
What if somebody has a serious health condition?
What if there is a fire?
...add any number of unexpected situations.


texts: Do people have the right to comment or live blog professional sports in the United States?

texts:
Do private persons have the freedom to live blog or comment on games on progress in professional sports?

For example, can a web caster watch the game on TV and then give his running commentary and graphics showing the score on his web site or on Twitch TV?

(Note I am not asking about rebroadcasting video, just about a person making their own commentary and graphics for the game. By a "graphic", I mean, for example, a box score in baseball.)


texts: What sort of framework am I looking for seeking a quick execution?

texts:
As advised on a previous question, I've decided to ask a more localised question for this question. For those unaware, I am trying to write a book where the character gets executed in the USA, 2019, but some things are harder to find in researching, more so when things are a little more specific.
Now for context and background information that may be necessary to build the framework; the character, a spy for an international spy agency, is convicted for homicides of 4 agents in cold blood with a gun/knife. The agency itself has collapsed and labelled a terrorist organisation (due to unrelated reason for here atm). They're also charged for treason and espionage to apparent connections to another organisation that caused the collapse. Agents from both organisations would be arrested if caught, and some laws could be more lax to deal with these waves of 'criminals', perhaps bring back war-time ones(?).
The MC gets caught and arrested for the crimes above, and lives in the Tennessee state (originally Florida but I revised the location based on another question), so they'd be taken to a facility there for their time and trial/sentences. This is where my question comes into play to try and establish a timeline and what I have to consider for the legal rout my MC is going to have to endure. More so when I want the time between arrest and execution to be very very short.
What would the legal framework that would enable an execution to take place, and in the manner of how they could speed the process up?
Like, It makes me wonder that if the defendant asks for no appeals of any kind, would that work to bring the date closer?


texts: Legality of Body Camera in all-party consent state (MD, USA)

texts:
I have recently moved to Maryland which is an all-party consent state, and I am trying to figure out if I am allowed to wear a body camera to record all my interactions.

I am extremely bad at searching the internet for legal things, so this source is the best I could find. According to the MD section, the law only applies where people would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, so obviously if. I'm at a park or a restaurant, I'd be fine. But what if I'm invited to someone's house? What is the process for obtaining consent? What other situations would I need to do that in?

I would appreciate any advice on how to find this information for myself so I can do that in the future.

Thank you.


texts:
Fat Fritz 2 is a chess engine recently published and sold by Chessbase. Release article. It uses the Stockfish binary, and replaces the NNUE in Stockfish with its own. Stockfish itself is licensed under GPL; the text on Stockfish's website is:

Stockfish is free, and distributed under the GNU General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3). Essentially, this means that you are free to do almost exactly what you want with the program, including distributing it among your friends, making it available for download from your web site, selling it (either by itself or as part of some bigger software package), or using it as the starting point for a software project of your own.
The only real limitation is that whenever you distribute Stockfish in some way, you must always include the full source code, or a pointer to where the source code can be found. If you make any changes to the source code, these changes must also be made available under the GPL.

Fat Fritz 2 uses Stockfish's binary, and the (small) modifications the author made to the binary is publicly available. However, its NNUE is closed source. Does Fat Fritz 2 violate Stockfish's license? Stockfish's developers certainly aren't happy with Fat Fritz 2, but I am wondering if they have a legal argument against Fat Fritz 2, or if the criticism is entirely on moral grounds.
If it is necessary for context: engines work by searching through the game tree and returning their so-called "eval function" on the end position. In other words, there are two crucial prongs of engine code:

search, which governs how the engine searches through the game tree (e.g., which moves it looks at first)
eval, which governs how the engine judges the final position of the search (e.g., the side that has more material is usually better)

Different engines usually have different search & eval code. In the case of Stockfish, its eval function is a neural network of a specific type ("NNUE"). Fat Fritz 2 uses Stockfish's search, but replaces Stockfish's NNUE with its own (definitely different) NNUE.


texts: Do I have to pay gift tax if I'm put on a house deed?

texts: I've lived in the home ever since it was purchased. Purchased out right but did not make the signing with my significant other. Now 20 some years later, he wants to add me to the deed. We paid with a loan from a family member which I helped to pay back. I also paid for work done on the home. Please help with an answer to this question.


texts: Is community service sufficient consideration for a contract?

texts:
Say Matt has been sentenced to perform 10 hours of community service by a judge.  His dad encourages him to be a good boy by offering him $1000 if he completes the hours.  Matt accepts the offer. There is a text message record of this exchange. After Matt completes his community service, his dad reneges and doesn't give him the $1000.

Does Matt have a valid claim that he has a contract with his dad?  Or does the community service not constitute sufficient consideration for a contract?


texts: Can I create an app based off a board game?

texts:
I wanted to create an app based on the Board Game Secret Hitler. The game itself is free to download on printable form. Because it is only available in Canada atm. I contacted the team behind the board game and they told me that it is not allowed to copy their game. So , what I am asking is, if I base the rules for my app off this board game, but everything other than that is different from the board game's design, is this still considered copyright infringement?
Thanks in advance for any info on this matter.
P.S. the app will be free


texts:
Hypothetical situation:
Miss X, a software developer with 10 years of experience, has obtained a new job. On her first day she logs into her desktop computer and the operating system requests that she chooses a password.

A few minutes later her line manager comes to talk to her and asks her to write the password to a piece of paper, place it inside an envelope, and seal and sign that envelope. He explains that if he needs access to the account when she is unreachable, he will open the envelope and use the password.

In USA, can Miss X legally decline the request for her password?


texts:
This question deals with how a hypothetical crime would be tried.

Hypothetical situation: The police find two people who have been locked in a room for the past 6 hours. In the room with them is a dead body. Murder! For the sake of simplicity, they somehow know that no one came in or out of the room during those six hours, an eye witness perhaps, but they do know that 3 people went into the room, and only 2 were able to walk out. Survivor A says survivor B was the murderer, and vice versa. All the evidence the police have neither fully incriminates one nor exonerates the other. As they have figured it, there's a 60% chance person A did it and a 40% chance person B did it.

How would this case be tried? There's not enough evidence to make a solid case against one, and all the police have is a hunch. And since America's court system processes one case at a time, these two suspects would be tried separately and would likely both be acquitted as there's simply not enough evidence to convict one. So how would this be tried?


texts: What are the possible punitive actions that Michael Flynn faces as he pleads guilty to one charge of lying to the FBI?

texts:
In a recent article in the Guardian:

  After months of silence and invisibility, Flynn walked into a federal courthouse in Washington DC on Friday morning and pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI. The plea was part of a larger deal with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, and strikes at the heart of the Trump White House.

What are the possible penalities that Flynn could face? One article in  New York Times mentioned a punitive five years in prison. Presumably a plea bargain reduces the maximum number of years he could face behind bars. Is there any other precedent that could give us some idea of what he might be facing in this situation - or is this situation entirely unprecedented?

The Guardian does mention:

  He faces a possible sentence of up to six months in prison in his guilty plea to the false statements charge.

How accurate is this assessment, or do we just have to wait and see?


texts: Why Can’t I prove Negligence & claim damages in delayed Admission Decision?

texts:
A gov admitting agency had the mandate to green-light my application but they halted it pending transcript verification from my previous university. I was later admitted but BECAUSE i wasn’t admitted by the preset deadline, i missed a scholarship.

I mean, as is the custom elsewhere, students are admitted as the admitters await transcript verification responses from previous universities, but for my case they indefinitely suspended the admission altogether. I missed out on being considered for a scholarship that i had prepared for- for the last 3 years. I believe it was unfair coz verification only satisfies the interest of the admitter therefore an applicant should not suffer it’s consequences incase it delays or does not go well, besides verification wasn’t listed as a pre-condition for admission. As an applicant i satisfied the admitters requirements & expectations when i uploaded all required docs and paid the application fee which in the admitter’s ordinance is meant to appraise the application, and my interest and expectation was to be admitted BY the preset dates.

How best if so can i or why can’t i claim damages for the admitting agency to give me all benefits i missed in the scholarship? Most specifically can i prove proximate cause?

Thanx


texts: What's the difference between the various degrees of murder?

texts:
I often read the terms "first degree murder", "second degree murder" and "third degree murder" in US newspapers. I'm not from the USA, and these terms are quite confusing to me. I've tried reading the Wikipedia article on it, and while it does give a small amount of explanation, it essentially is 2 double-stub length paragraphs based around various jurisdictions, with a bunch of links to specific types of murder and methods of murder.

What's the difference between first degree, second degree and third degree murder?


texts:
If you search for will services there are many that seem to do nothing more than fill your name and other details into a predefined format. These services also often charge money for it.

Of course people with more complicated situations may need to seek legal advice but is there not a template available that anyone can use for free for more common situations?


texts:
Recently I was reading about Bitcoin and its anonymous creator "Satoshi Nakamoto", and it made me wonder:

Could a company legally have an anonymous staff and/or board? If not, why not?

To clarify:

Obviously this would need to be a distributed workforce (everyone's working remotely).

I'd like to see the answer contain:

Consideration of the possibility of domiciling the company outside the United States.
Consideration of the extent to which different types of employees may differ with respect to the legality of their remaining anonymous.

So, for example, it might be illegal for the CEO to be anonymous, but not for the rank-and-file employees.

Consideration of the extent to which different corporate structures might make it possible for some or all of the staff to remain anonymous.


texts: When were the Black Acts passed in Scotland?

texts:
In 'The Scottish Legal System' 1, the authors say that

  The first printing press was introduced into Scotland in 1507, but it was not until 1541 with the printing of the Black Acts that it was applied to legislation.

However, the Records of the Parliaments of Scotland state that the Black Acts were not passed until May 1584.

Which source is correct?

1 White, Willock & MacQueen; fifth edition (2013); para 2.15.


texts: Home insurance was never signed by homeowner

texts:
I made a change to my homeowners insurance back in 2016 and the forms were never signed by me. I made all payments in good faith.

Recently made a claim for some minor damage due to hurricane Katrina. The claim was denied due to reasons and they promptly canceled my insurance.

Now they are emailing me several times a week and calling me because i never signed the forms back in 2016.

What is my legal standing?
Can I get them to pay for my home repairs before signing?

I want to do the right thing meaning I don't to sue them for millions, just enough to pay for the repairs.


texts: Is making a public comment about a girl's breasts illegal?

texts:
From a Washington Post's article about Columbine HS:

  A similar event happened at a Columbine wrestling match at Arvada High
  School. Pyne, "in front of everyone," said Harwick, broadcast to all
  within earshot: " 'Her breasts are getting bigger.' They're laughing
  -- the jocks were." She told Coach Place; he told her to sit on the other side of the gym.

  She then went to a woman at a concession stand, who called the Arvada
  police. The officer issued Pyne a ticket. Because he was a juvenile,
  court records are not available, but Harwick said he pleaded guilty
  and paid a $50 fine.

While it's obviously in poor taste, I'm surprised that a comment like "Her breasts are getting bigger" is actually illegal. What laws were being broken, and might not such speech be protected by the Constitution?


texts: Is the interpretation of Double Jeopardy realistic in the movie Fracture?

texts:
Related question
Based on a discussion in this comment thread.
In the movie Fracture, a man shoots his wife. She ends up in a coma. Meanwhile, the man gets charged with attempted murder. Due to a technicality, a lot of the evidence of the prosecution is inadmissable, leaving them without any real evidence. Furthermore, they are missing a murder weapon, which would 'seal the deal'.
Because of this, the man is acquitted of attempted murder and let go. He then takes the required legal action to get the hosptial to pull the plug on his wife, killing her.
After all of this, the prosecution manages to find the murder weapon and proceeds to charge the man with murder, because the wife is now dead.
Question
Is this realistic? The actual killing of the wife would be 'legal', so can he be charged for murder for something that has been done legally, only because they can prove is intent to kill her before that? Especially since he has already been acquitted of that fact.


texts: Google Photos Takeout - machine learning classification missing

texts:
I did a Google takeout of Google Photos and was able to download all stored images including some meta data, but not the classification data Google is most likely doing, because I can search for persons and objects in the Photos app.
So my question is:
When a company is requested to provide the personal data to the user, does this also include the derived data?


texts:
A former disgruntled employee wrote some defamatory comments about me two months ago, and listed them on a site which has a very strong ranking on google. The employee made false claims, and derogatory comments that are completely untrue and I contacted the employee about removing the content.

The employee apologized and attempted to remove the content, but the site will not remove it, and the website hides behind Communications Decency Act or the “CDA”, 47 U.S.C. § 230. This employee signed an NDA and breached the NDA when writing their comments about me and the company.

What do I do? I would like to sue this employee, but she is overseas. I need a court order to have this site be removed by Google.


texts: What guarantees that my conveyancing solicitors are doing their job properly?

texts:
I am in the process of buying a property in the UK, and using a solicitor for the conveyancing. So I am placing a great amount of trust in the solicitors and effectively assuming that they have checked over the contract sufficiently to protect me. However, what if it turns out that the solicitors have not done a very good job, and have missed something which in the future affects me negatively?

As a simple but perhaps naive hypothetical example, suppose there is an unusual clause in the contract which says that I must pay the vendor some arbitrary fee every year. And suppose that my solicitors do not notice this and do not inform me of it. Then when the vendor starts asking me to pay this fee, and I realise that it was on the original contract after all, am I able to claim that my solicitors did not do their job properly, and hence avoid paying this fee, or perhaps sue my solicitors?

In summary: The solicitors exist to ensure that the vendor is not doing anything dodgy, but what guarantee is in place to ensure that my solicitors are doing their job properly?

Yes, you could say "It is your responsibility", but then what is the point of using a solicitor anyway if you have to rigorously check everything they have done?


texts: Why are promotional games including lottery-like elements not considered as illegal lottery?

texts:
Many companies offer promotional games which include 'win codes' if you buy a certain product. These 'win codes' allow to win prizes by chance which are much larger than the value of the bought product. An example would be the sales promotion "Mc Donalds Lottery" (see wikipedia), which offered prizes up to $1,000,000 if you are really lucky. I even participated in similar lottery-like promotions by non-licensed retailers as a child, when I would have never been able to participate in real lotteries, which are only offered by state-controlled companies to adults in my jurisdiction.
Similar regulations, both concerning age limits and licensing needed exist in most countries. Such it appears to me that such promotional games are not considered as lottery, otherwise such promotional games were not possible. Why is this?

My first thought was "As long as a product is sold and the 'win codes' are only a bonus, it is not illegal lottery'. But if this is the rule, what prevents a company from selling very cheap products (worth a few cents) for a few dollars and giving 'win codes' with significantly high chances of winning as a bonus?


texts: Contradictory information in nevada credit card statute of limitations

texts:
https://www.solosuit.com/posts/145
I am using Nevada because it has the longes statute of any state.
It says the written contract is 6 years. Yet open accounts are 4.
Which one is it? Are credit card lawsuits so rare that this has never been tested?
The law says

NRS 11.190  Periods of limitation.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 40.4639, 125B.050 and 217.007, actions other than those for the recovery of real property, unless further limited by specific statute, may only be commenced as follows

So the specific statute for open accounts is 4 years but the written contract is 6.
Which one applies to cc debt?


texts:
The dictionary defines libel as:

  a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation

In the USA, is the opposite illegal? That is:

  a published false statement that is beneficial to a person's reputation

For example, suppose a person was engaged in an organized campaign to spread the false idea that Donald Trump has an IQ of 160. Would this be illegal under any circumstances?


texts:
Who has the power to force teachers back to work at their old salary?
Chicago mayor?  Illinois governor?  USA president?

For how long can this be forced?  E.G., is a 5-year effective suspension
of the union possible with one person's executive order?  Of course, teachers
could still quit on their own at any time, so my question pertains just
to the union's action.

I know laws could be rewritten at any time to allow anything, but let's
assume that no law changes are ever made.


texts: Wills and probate question. When is a will considered contested?

texts:
Venue is likely Idaho.

Under what authority or condition would a stipulation of a will be considered contested?

  Will Contest. If any person shall for any reason or in any manner whatever, directly or indirectly, contest this Will in whole or in part on any ground whatever, or oppose or object to any of the provisions hereof, or seek to invalidate any such provisions, or shall seek or endeavor to succeed to my estate or any part thereof otherwise than through this Will, then I direct that such person shall neither take nor receive anything from my estate and any gift, bequest, devise or other interest in my estate to which such person would otherwise be entitled by virtue of the provisions of this Will or law, such gift, bequest, devise or other interest in my estate shall stand revoked and be cancelled and rendered void and of no effect whatever; and I give, devise and bequeath such gift, bequest, devise or other interest in my estate to those who would be entitled thereto under this Will had such person predeceased me.

What I am wondering is whom is the authority that decides if the Will is being contested? Could an executor of the will decide this? Does a judge need to decide this? Or if someone wants to make that accusation that's when we get injunctions and lawyer up?


texts:
Many are claiming that Windows 10's data collection is much more invasive than previous Microsoft products, even claiming that Windows 10 ships with a keylogger and reports every keystroke back to Microsoft. Most locally, this question on the Stack Exchange network makes some of the same claims.
However, it seems that many of those sources have conflated the developer pre-release version of Windows 10 with the official release, and I'm having trouble separating the wheat from the chaff. My goal in asking this question is to look past the sensationalist reporting and see what rights Microsoft holds.
The official End-User License Agreement for the final retail release of Windows 10 says the following:

Privacy; Consent to Use of Data. Your privacy is important to us. Some of the software features send or receive information when using those features. Many of these features can be switched off in the user interface, or you can choose not to use them. By accepting this agreement and using the software you agree that Microsoft may collect, use, and disclose the information as described in the Microsoft Privacy Statement (aka.ms/privacy), and as may be described in the user interface associated with the software features.

The referenced Microsoft Privacy Statement says the following:

Microsoft collects data to operate effectively and provide you the best experiences with our services. [...] We get some of it by recording how you interact with our services by, for example, using technologies like cookies, and receiving error reports or usage data from software running on your device. We also obtain data from third parties (including other companies).
Microsoft uses the data we collect to provide you the services we offer, which includes using data to improve and personalize your experiences. [...] We use data to help make the ads we show you more relevant to you. However, we do not use what you say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail, or your documents, photos or other personal files to target ads to you.
Windows 10 ("Windows") is a personalized computing environment that enables you to seamlessly roam and access services, preferences and content across your computing devices from phones to tablets to the Surface Hub. Rather than residing as a static software program on your device, key components of Windows are cloud-based, and both cloud and local elements of Windows are updated regularly, providing you with the latest improvements and features. In order to provide this computing experience, we collect data about you, your device, and the way you use Windows. And because Windows is personal to you, we give you choices about the personal data we collect and how we use it.

Putting aside the technical question of what information the software actually does collect (which would be off topic)...
From a legal standpoint, in the retail version of Windows 10:

How does Microsoft's claim to user data differ from previous versions of Windows?
Does Microsoft have the right to record arbitrary keystrokes or clicks made while using their operating system and send that data to external servers?
Does Microsoft have the right to share user usage data with third parties (such as advertising agencies), either at a price or without compensation? Despite saying that they currently don't use data directly from our personal files for this purpose, do they have a right to begin doing so at any time?


texts: Legal status of an ongoing situation pending an appeal

texts:
Apologies for the title. I could not think of a concise and accurate way to phrase it.

I will phrase this question in terms of charitable trusts, but my question is really about the general principle. I am assuming that the particular statutes which apply to the given situation are silent on this issue.

Let's say we have a charitable trust. It is determined (by a regulator or a court of first instance) that the trust is invalid. Let's call this point A in time. At point A, it is as if the trust has never existed (which means we have a resulting trust back to the settlor). The trustees appeal. If they lose, then nothing changes - the trust never existed. If they win, then the trust has always existed. Let's call this point B in time.

My question is, how do the trustees figure out what their legal duties are between point A and B? What happens if they do something during this time which would be considered a breach of trust if the charitable trust is reinstated? What if they are legally compelled to do so e.g. the beneficiary of the resulting trust asks for his money back. If there is no charitable trust, then the trustees cannot refuse the request. On the other hand, if the charitable trust is reinstated then they have spent charitable funds on a non-charitable purpose.

What is the general principle? How should you behave when you are in situation X, but the outcome of an appeal could mean that you are retrospectively in situation Y, and you are faced with a conflicting set of rules for a given action during the interim?

Ideally I would like a UK specific answer, but would also welcome more general answers based on common law systems.


texts: Is it a Copyright Infringement to commercially use a CC0 photo of a cosplay of a movie character?

texts:
I want to use a photo of a cosplayer in my game. According to the Unsplash license, the photo is free to use commercially. But the character cosplayed is a property of Marvel.

I will edit this photo (add brush strokes to simulate watercolor) and I won’t use the character from it anywhere besides the only screen with this edited photo.

Is this a fair use or there are going to be issues with it?


texts: Do managers need to report all holdings to the SEC report in 13F filings?

texts:
Do institutional investment managers need to report all of their holdings to the SEC or merely those over which they hold investment discretion in 13F filings?
At least the title of the relevant paragraph (§ 240.13f-1 Reporting by institutional investment managers of information with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion) would imply that they only have to disclose the securities over which they exercise investment discretion.
The rule, as I'm interpreting it, does not explicitly state that only those holdings need to be reported over which it holds investment discretion.
I wonder because a bank might also disclose information on holdings over which it exercises no investment discretion (e.g., the shares in an investment account of a bank customer who decides her-/himself over the strategy).


texts: Can I enter into an IP contract with my own ltd company before having investors in?

texts:
I spent 4 years developing an App. Recently I started a Proprietary Limited company (I'm in Australia). Me and my wife are the only directors.

Before getting share holders into the company, is it legal to make a IP transfer contract between myself and my own ltd company? Specifically, the contract will set a sale price of $800,000 for the App to the company, which is payable in small monthly installments to me (the creator). The ownership is transferred in percentage relative to the ammount paid over time.

My intention is to protect myself. If I'm fired from the Company, I'm compensated for my original work.


texts: Latin expression for the advantage of being possession of disputed goods in a civil suit?

texts:
Some time ago I saw (In fact it might have been in a comic, possibly Zits.) an expression/proverb that basically said that being in possession of disputed goods meant that a civil lawsuit/quarrel was almost won before it had begun. Anyone know what idiom I am talking about and can remind me?

NB: I am not sure if it was in English or Latin. If possible I would prefer a Latin answer.

Edit: after learning about this nine-tenths idiom I found two similar latin expressions, possidetis, ita possideatis and qui tenet teneat, qui dolet doleat. Are there more or better latin expressions I should be aware of?


texts: If I request to download my personal data under GDPR, from sites like Google or Facebook, is it legal for me to sell that data?


texts:
My sister in India sent her dysfunctional iphone to me in the UK through DHL. She signed some paperwork and was charged Rs. 4300 for the transfer. She did not quote a value for the product nor did she sign an invoice.

To receive the product, DHL asked me to pay a sum of £54 towards duty and VAT. I requested the customer retention team an invoice, and they sent me the paperwork signed by my sister in India.

We were shocked to see an invoice with a forged signature of my sister, quoting a price of £200 for the iPhone. The DHL has forged her signature for getting a higher amount of tax, while the iphone itself was worthless, as it was dysfunctional.

What legal recourse do I have? Can they be tried in the UK, as I have been wrongly made to pay £54? Or does this come under Indian jurisdiction? Is there an easy online way to protect my consumer rights?


texts: How does a 'covenant' differ from a [1] 'promise' [2] 'contract'?

texts:
I'm discombublated why none of my contract law textbooks define 'covenant' when they use it many times, including Anson's Law of Contract (2016 30 ed) and Contract Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (2018 8 ed).

Google furnished some articles defining 'covenant', but in US law  by

Eric Lambert BA in Economics, Math, Business, University of Rochester. JD Cornell.
Raymond Millien  BS in Computer Science from Columbia University (New York), and a JD from The George Washington University Law School (Washington D.C.)
Marc Primack The University of Chicago, AB, Phi Beta Kappa. Stanford University, JD.
Upcounsel.com, but I distrust this as the author(s) is undeclared.

Thomson Reuters Practical Law's glossary is too snippety.


texts: Immigration officers in the US can arrest people who have violated immigration law, even if the violation is not criminal (8 USC 1357(a)(2), 8 CFR 287.5(c)(1)).  Are there other examples of civil violations in the US that can lead to arrest of the violator?


texts: What can be done if work is completed on a vehicle without consent in the United States?

texts:
Let's say you take your car to a dealership to get X and Y completed and you get a quote for $1000. You aren't contacted about any additional work that needed to be completed, but when you come to pick it up X, Y, and Z have been completed and it will cost you $2000 to get your car back.

What legal rights do you have? Would you be able to get your car back without compensating the dealership for the extra work they did?


texts: Is it necessary for both the divorced parents to consent for their younger than 12 years old kid to wear face mask or get tested for COVID-19?

texts: I guess there is some consent needed since the kid is younger that 12 years old. But is it necessary for both the parents to consent? Does the opinion of the kid also count? More specifically I would like to know if one of the parents can prevent any of the two by being against it. To be clear, I am asking for wearing a face mask and getting tested, not for vaccination.


texts: Does Canada Have A Law Against Automatic Software Updates?

texts: The Windows 10 1909 November setup license agreement has a provision which seems to suggest Microsoft must provide Canadians with the ability to entirely disable updates. Is there such a law?


texts: How to intepretate three paragraphs in my contract?

texts:
I am a seaman and I have a work contract undersigned by both sides. In mentioned contract I have a paragraph saying, that:

The payslip and balance payment will be forwarded after
evaluation of the work hour protocols until the 15th of the following
month.

Another paragraph:

For every day on board (24h), the crew member is entitled to 0,5 days
leave/holiday (12h).

And in next paragraph it is written, that:

The seaman is entitled to paid leave in accordance with legal
regulations of §§ 56 to 64 of the German Maritime Labour Act. The
calendar year is the basis for the calculation of working days and
times off. Place of vacation as per the meaning of the German Maritime
Labour Act is the hometown of the crew member.

Correct me, please, if I am wrong, but as I unserstand well, for leave/holiday money I should wait until the end of the year? Or 15th of each following month?
In first case, if the contract does not mention this, when should I have to be paid for leave/holiday?
Thank you in advance for your interpretation.


texts: if all customers always violate a contract, is enforcement legally impossible?

texts:
Hypothetical case for U.S. law (close to reality but simplified here):

A company offers advertising. Customers may get paid by publishing the advertising. The customers presumably want to do this in order to make profits. Some customers may be organized as nonprofit and they're not allowed to make profits, but individuals are not nonprofit and nonprofit organizations presumably want to do this in order to make surpluses. The company does not appear to serve primarily nonprofits.

The company requires a contract, which is a contract of adhesion. Ignore that the contract may have been sloppily drafted. Assume the company will defend it as written now. The contract forbids customers from doing anything "commercial". The contract does not explicitly define "commercial" but implicitly relies on one or more legal definitions inferrable from outside of the contract. While it is possible for a customer to enter into the contract and then do nothing so as not to do anything "commercial", the customer would then earn no revenue and therefore no profit or surplus, and such a possibility is therefore a trivial case not considered here. Therefore, while the company is not in violation of the contract, all customers, except nonprofits, are always in violation. The only cure is to cease doing anything with the company.

If I, an individual, enter into the contract and I then do something "commercial" in relation to the company, is the company barred from treating me as violating the contract because what I do under the contract is "commercial" when what everyone is doing under the contract is "commercial"? For example, might the bar be due to estoppel?

Companies are usually presumed to legally exist in perpetuity, so assume perpetuity for this company. Does it add fuel to the legal fire if enforcing the bar to commercialism against all customers would put the company out of business? In this case, customers would not publish the advertising supplied by the company, no one in the world would act on the advertisements, advertisers would stop advertising through this company, the company would stop receiving any revenue, and the company therefore would have no more profit. Indeed, the company could not pay any obligations still outstanding, and that would force it into bankruptcy. Does that mean the company cannot enforce contractual violations grounded solely on commercialism?


texts: Are products made from illegal software also illegal?

texts:
Say a piece of software was aquired, and used, completely illegally, like a license key was hacked online or something, and many other products (say, for example, videos) were made with this illegal product. Are all of those products now also illegal?

For example, if they are videos, would they legally have to be removed from YouTube, since they were made in an illegal way? Why or why not?


texts: Can an employee represent themselves as another company as long as a contractual obligation needs to be met

texts:
I am wondering if an employee of a company can represent themselves on the telephones as long as another company legally allows that employee to do so.

For example, Company A – a small delivery company – writes a contract which requests the services of Company B – a sales company – to do sales and dispatching for the delivery company.

Now Bob, who gets paid by and is employed by Company B, would need to call the delivery drivers or new potential clients and say "Hi this is Bob from Company A...".  Under normal circumstances, this is fraud, but since there is a contract in place asking for the sales company to provide a service, if it would allow their employees to provide a service, in theory, there would be an alternate solution.

Can this representation on the telephones, and with clients or any other entity lead to legal problems as long as there are contracts in place allowing such an action?


texts: Is it legal (fair use) to use lyrics as part of a personal project?

texts:
Hypothetical question: Imagine I am working on a memorial bench for a family member who recently passed away.  As part of this project I would like to use two stanzas from a commercially released song by a Finnish band.  I live in the US, in Pennsylvania.  This bench will be set in my front yard where it is visible to the public.

Given that this is a personal project, one off, and is not commercial in nature, does this usage fall under fair use?  Or would I need to somehow attain permission from the songwriter to do this?  I have tried searching online but most advice concentrates on reproduction in a digital and shareable medium; not a physical object.


texts: Why do so many YouTube channels ask people if it's OK to show them in their videos?

texts: My understanding is that it's not illegal to film people in public where there can be no reasonable expectation for privacy. However, if that's the case, why do so many channels on YouTube ask people if it's OK to show them in their videos? Are they being polite, or is it part of YouTube's policy? Is it possible I don't understand the law correctly and that filming people in public does actually require consent?


texts: Do I have grounds for contesting this parking ticket

texts:
I live in Los Angeles, South Bay area. My brother was visiting from out of town, borrowed my car, unwittingly parked on residential street on street sweeping day at the stated hours, and got a ticket for $45.

He did not see any parking sign and saw other cars parked there at the time and thought nothing of it. I looked at the street and there were 3 signs on a long block. Signs #1 and #2 are rather close together but #2 and #3, between which he parked, are ~500 feet apart (I approximated by walking and counting steps). It seems unreasonable to me to expect someone who doesn't know the area to look 250 feet both ways for signs, esp. when there are visual obstructions in form of trees.  Seems to me the city should be responsible for having more signs. Certainly in the same area on business streets there are signs like every 100ft.

Do I have grounds for contesting this ticket?


texts: Stuck at workplace for 24 hours, only gets paid for 13 hours

texts:
My mother is a USA citizen and a home care nurse. Her job requires her to personally visit designated family (by the company) and provide nursing assistance.

As part of her job, she would get assigned to a family for a 24 hour period, but only gets paid for 12 hours.

In order to provide a 24 hour service, she has to sleep at the family's place, and she can be interrupted anytime during her sleep to provide service for the family. She does not have the freedom to leave the house outside of the 12 hours paid period.

So essentially, she has to be physically present at the designated family for 12 hours without pay. Her employer's justification is that there are a lot of downtime during her work period, where the family is eating and sleeping.

So my question to the community, is this illegal in this country?

PS. She works in NYC


texts: Website harrassing for payment for a trip I did not book.

texts:
For the past few day I am receiving emails in my gmail account from a travel company based in Belgium, SEE-EU asking for a payment of around 1000 euros for a trip to Switzerland. Initially I did not pay much attention as I thought they are spam e-mails. But yesterday I received this e-mail.

  We would like to inform you that despite our last two reminders to make the payment for this booking order, you are not reacting or answering. We will shortly send you a reminder by SMS and if we do not hear anything from you still, we shall forward the file to our legal representative to start the legal proceedings for the recovery of the amount + 8% interest + costs levied due to these proceedings. As per the Belgian laws and as mentioned in our terms and conditions on the bookings page (see below link), we are obliged to warn the clients 3 times in writing and then we can start charging 8% interest from the day of third warning and start the proceedings of recovery. Thank you for your kind notice of this and any response to our messages.

The problem is that I never booked any such trip from their website. The website never asked to activate my e-mail or my consent before finalizing the booking. They just sent an email notifying me that my trip has been booked, which as I earlier said I ignored.

Now, my question :
1. I travel quite a lot including EU and Belgium and I am little worried. Am I liable to pay them the money?
2. Is it even legal to threat me for such payment? At what point, does it become cyber harassment? It is quite possible that someone mistyped his/her e-mail to mine. If no, is there someplace where I can report them?


texts: Can neighbors collude on sale minimums to inflate home values?

texts: Is it legal, in the U.S., for a group of neighbors in an area, to agree they won't be letting their properties sell for less than a certain price each (or another yardstick, such as per sq ft prices) for a certain period of time, so that they raise the value of their housing, if they believe there is cushion on the buyers side to pay even more than they are already paying? Would it be considered price fixing or collusion ? I think this practice would be illegal for corporations, not sure about individual market participants.