texts: Can someone be convicted with an unwarranted surveillance video?

texts:
If I were to place recording equipment within someone's home without their consent or a warrant, completely on my own accord and unsanctioned, would I be committing a crime?

If I were to record someone committing a crime such as murder or assault with that equipment, would I be able to use that as evidence in court to convict the perpetrator of such wrongdoings?


texts: How far does fair-use apply for a source that contains several critiqued resources?

texts:
As far as I'm aware, if you're writing an article on a movie (or something similar), you can use screenshots and such from the movie to illustrate your points under fair use law.

Example: Under fair use, A blog article about StarWars's dvd artwork would allow the use of images of the covers in the piece.

Scenario: This article was one of many on StarWarsDVDs.com - Would fair use allow for use of the artwork as the banner for the website? seeing as the site is solely dedicated to the topic.

From what I know of fair use, it's somewhat fuzzily defined - but I was wondering about how it would apply to collections of items that reference the media.

Is using media in this way allowed by fair use?

There might be some instances of this occurring previously, like a published book of movie reviews?


texts: Thompson v Louisiana 1984 - Murderer convicted?

texts:
I am reading about the case Thompson v Louisiana from 1984 when SCOTUS decided that evidence obtained during a search without a search warrant couldn't be used in the case. But besides the SCOTUS-case itself, what happened to the murderer? Has she been convicted despite law enforcement unable to use some obtained evidence?
enter link description here


texts: Can a judge legally forbid a jury from Nullifying a verdict if they ask him about it before rendering a verdict

texts:
Let's say I'm part of a jury in a case where I believe jury nullification may be warranted, and that my other jurors may agree with me, and so I suggest it to my fellow jurors.  My jurors ask me what would happen if they voted to nullify the verdict and I tell them I can't say for sure, because the legal status of jury nullification is complicated even for the best lawyer, because I'm not a lawyer, and because frankly my knowledge of legal matters is quite haphazard and it's scary to think that the results of a trial and a person's life would depend on my half-remembered understanding of jury nullification.  Unfortunately I can't go online to research jury nullification now that I'm a juror so the jury is stuck with my incomplete knowledge as the best information they have to make a decision with.
The other jurors, correctly not trusting me to know what I'm talking about, go to the judge to ask about jury nullification and whether it's an option in this trial.  The judge is one who is not a fan of jury nullification and does not want to see it happen.  Can the judge flat out tell the jury that they cannot vote to nullify the verdict?
If the judge did so and the jury chooses to nullify the verdict anyways would the fact that the judge forbade them to do so have any impact on what happens from that point forward?  Would the jury risk repercussions for nullifying a verdict against the judge's orders?
Finally is there any situation where a jury trying to nullify a verdict could phrase their objection incorrectly such that the judge could take it as a guilty verdict?  E.g., if they say "we think you proved the plaintiff did this thing, but we don't believe he should be punished" can the judge rule that they said he was guilty and just ignore the second half?


texts: What constitutes a “Rule 69 agreement” after a judge has issued a final ruling and required mediation?

texts: The context is in Arizona and I'm wondering how can a party prove an agreement existed.


texts: Are lawyers generally discouraged to give high level/strategic legal advice?

texts:
Seven working days ago I emailed eight lawyers based in a medium-sized New Zealand city and specialized in criminal law. The emails were:

Dear Firstname Lastname,
I am seeking legal advice as a private prosecutor. At the moment I
would like to receive an advice answering this question:
Getting courts to reconsider judgment when new evidence crops up
That said, I am seeking advice at high level — as opposed to going
into specific details of the case — unless this is proved necessary.
Can you please let me know if I can be your client initially just for
the purpose of getting an answer to the question at the link above?
Yours sincerely,
**** ****

Out of the 8 lawyers just one replied, saying that he's fully committed and so unable to help. This kind of silence made me wonder why most lawyers would not even drop a line saying "No".
Is giving high level advice like the one I requested something that lawyers cannot do, or generally, do not want to do for some reason?


texts:
Under the HIPAA and HITECH Regulations (US) is it required for a system to record an audit trail for every time a user accesses any PHI(Protected Health Information)?

As I understand it, an audit trail of user logins is required, as well as any time a user adds, edits, or deletes PHI. Does simply viewing / accessing PHI need to be logged as well?


texts: What are the intellectual property rules regarding painting a real/fictitious person?

texts:
I am an absolute layman and unaware whether there are universally accepted (or something like the UN recommended) copyright laws or not and thus, I have not specified as to which copyright laws I am referring to. I would be glad to hear answers discussing any prominent copyright laws.

Ok, so the question is the following: If a painter (either for profitable or non-profitable purposes) wants to paint someone (either living, dead, or fictitious) then does she require a prior permission from the living person himself or the descendants of the dead person or the IP-right holders of the book to which the fictitious character belongs to? On one hand, it sounds completely ridiculous to need to have permission from, say, DiCaprio, if I want to make a painting of him. But in some cases, for example, in the case of some fictitious characters, the demand of the creator of the character to have a say in whether some product related to his character can go into the market or not might sound somewhat rational to, at least, some.

Things can go even more involved in some cases. For example, I might want to paint DiCaprio polluting the whole planet with a bunch of factories and even if DiCaprio might not have any problem with me making a simple painting of him, he might have some issues with me portraying him doing something he would never do. But I can, of course, argue that I have the right to portray my imaginations and I don't claim them to be real at all.

I would love to know what are the standard laws regarding these matters.


texts: Wisconsin Tenant Right to Vacate by Month-to-Month After Lease Expires (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 704.19)

texts:
Greetings to all who are far more in tune with Law-speak than myself!  I appreciate your taking the time to look at this important issue I am trying to find a solution to.

In summary, I signed a 1 year lease almost a year ago for the residence I just left.  The lease indicated that if I intend to end the lease early I must give a 60 day notice to the Landlord, in writing, before I can leave and that I would be responsible for any/all rent not collected by a potential new tenant should they be unable to find one.

I had received a letter indicating that my lease was about to expire, some time before the 60 day cut-off point (but not by much) that indicated I had three options:

1) Renew the lease and pay another $10/month for the new lease.
2) Go onto month-to-month for an extra $35/month.
3) Move out before the lease expires.

Number 2 was the option I was going to take since I was in the middle of looking for a new job out of town, and thus, planning to find a new place to live when that happened, but I never actually chose that option because the letter indicated that would be what automatically happened if I didn't return the letter.

As luck would have it, I accepted a job 3 weeks before my lease expires, found an apartment and moved to that apartment at great cost in money and time.  My landlord got wind of this, called me, and told me I never gave a 60 day notice, so I politely indicated to them that according to my research, Wisconsin law indicates I only need to give a 28 day notice if I am on month to month, so I told them they would be getting a written notice at the beginning of next month to coincide with that 28 day notice, versus their ridiculous 60 day notice requirement for being on the lease.  The reason I did this is because I didn't want to be on the hook for potentially 2 more months of rent, since I do not trust my landlord to fill the vacancy quickly when I am gone.  My landlord told me that I "have it all wrong" that despite being on month-to-month I am still on lease and that I am to be held to the 60 day notice regardless.

For your reference, what I am referring to as my "research" is the following information:

  Notice Requirements for Wisconsin Tenants

  It is equally easy for tenants in Wisconsin to get out of a month-to-month rental agreement.  You must provide the same amount of notice (28 days) as the landlord (unless your rental agreement provides for a shorter amount of notice).  Be sure to check your rental agreement which may require that your notice to end the tenancy be given on the first of the month or on another specific date.

  In some situations, you may be able to move out with less (or no) notice—for example, if your landlord seriously violates the rental agreement or fails to fulfill legal responsibilities affecting your health or safety.

That information can be found here, and on a few different websites: Wisconsin Notice Requirements to Terminate Month to Month Tenancy

So my question is, am I allowed to give my 28 day notice at the end of this month/beginning of this month and not be held accountable for the month after?  I do know I will have to pay this coming month's rent (+$35 for the month-to-month agreement) and that I am still responsible for utilities during that time as well, but I do not believe according to the information I provided here that I will be held responsible for the month after next (October) and that my landlord is basically trying to con me out of another month of rent.

Please advise; I am certainly thankful for anyone taking the time to research this for me.  I've tried calling a non-profit center that helps with this sort of thing in my state, but they've yet to call me back and the end of the month is approaching.


texts: Does Congress have the authority to grant citizenship to an individual?

texts:
The US House Committee on Appropriations just passed a resolution to grant citizenship to Charlie Gard, a British infant. Of course, the resolution is only part of a much larger bill that would need to be passed into law by Congress/the President.

However, recently there has been a lot of noise from the executive branch of the US Government proclaiming that it has power over immigration granted by the US Constitution, with regard to the various immigration bans the White House has attempted to enact.

Considering this, and understanding that immigration policies in a broad sense probably came from Congress in some form (as there is a lot of existing 'immigration law' on the books), does Congress have the authority to grant citizenship to an individual? Can Congress pass a law that applies to a single, specific individual (rather than an office or position held by an individual, such as the Office of the President of the United States)? Is there any precedent for either of these things?


texts: Is the prosecutor's fallacy still an issue in cases today?

texts:
I'm writing an article about the misuse of statistics in the courtroom. Of course one can not have this conversation without mentioning of the so-called "Prosecutor's fallacy". Most of the examples of this date back to the late-90s/early 2000s e.g Sally Clark, Angela Cannings etc.
The fallacy involves statistical reasoning in court cases. Basically, it is the error of assuming that the odds of a false positive are the odds of the defendant's guilt. So when the expert witness declares that the DNA test is 99.9% accurate, the prosecution tells the jury this means there is only 0.1% chance that the defendant is innocent.
My question is has anything actually been done to address the issue of prosecutors and unqualified expert witnesses giving misleading statistics in the courtroom? Or have lawyers more or less learned their lesson from these instances and are more careful about it now?
Moreover, does anyone know of any other general practises that have been implemented to help prevent faulty scientific analysis from being presented in court?
(I'm asking mainly about the English legal system, however please feel free to present anything relevant about the American system or any other).


texts:
As per the title : In Europe, is it legal to have a fully consentual open marriage? (specifically sexual relationships with other couples)

The question comes from the legal basis that in theory consentual choices are legal but sex outside of marriage may be not.

I know in the US there is such a thing like open marriage but in Europe (I'm not referring exclusively to UK, but Italy for example) the definition is blurred or non-existant. Take for example the case that someone thinks so strongly this is wrong, can they legally do any harm?


texts: Is there a criminal database for my city Calgary

texts:
About 15 years ago while my father was working 55 hour weeks being paid $8/hr, he completed his taxi license and started working more hours a week as a taxi driver. On the highway, one of his passengers struck him with a hammer on the back of his head landing him in the hospital for a few months for no apparent reason.

My father, being an immigrant, did not understand the law or his rights so did not pursue the issue further, despite police catching the individual in question.

I, his son, would like to look at this case and pursue it, despite my father's unwillingness to do so. Is there a way that I, independently, can figure out the identity of the criminal. The city in question is Calgary, Alberta, Canada.


texts: Hospital refuses to allow me to talk to their billing department - are there any laws/regulations that I can use to help them change their minds?

texts:
Background here: Hospital billed me for services that I explicitly refused. Are there any legal ramifications for hospital?.  In short, my wife visited a hospital and was grossly mis-billed.  In total we were charged about $2000 for services/procedures that either didn't happen or were explicitly refused.  As an example, a doctor said that he would do an abdominal ultrasound and then, if that did not give him clear answers, would follow up with a transvaginal ultrasound.  The transvaginal ultrasound was not necessary and did not happen (and in case you're not familiar, it is not the sort of thing that a doctor does without you noticing).  However, there was almost $1000 on my bill for a transvaginal ultrasound (as well as a smaller charge for the abdominal ultrasound that did happen).

I've been talking to the hospital to get these charges off my bill but I don't feel like it has been going well.  In particular, I would now like to go through the entire bill with someone from their billing department to make sure that they haven't misbilled me for other services that I haven't noticed.  All the billing information is in hospital codes, so while I've made sense of some of it, I haven't made sense of all of it.  I came into their billing department to discuss this and discovered that their billing team does not talk to customers under any circumstances.  Instead only their "Customer Care" team does.  They don't know anything about billing codes (I was told that if I wanted to know what I was being billed for I should "google" it) and can't make any changes to my bill - only flag it for a dispute.

I'm very unhappy with this arrangement.  I would very much like to talk to someone from the department that screwed up my bill this badly.  I would very much like to talk to someone who can actually walk me through my bill.  I plan on calling them next week, expressing my unhappiness with the situation, and do everything I can to get a billing person on the phone.  I suspect that what they are doing is perfectly legal, but I'm certainly no expert, so I figured I would come here to ask.

Are there any laws or regulations which I can use to convince a hospital's billing department to talk to me, despite the fact that they have a clear policy otherwise?


texts: Does the exact spelling matter when referencing the CC BY-SA licence?

texts:
We have been having a discussion in a chat room on whether the exact spelling matters when referring to a License, in this particular case the CC BY-SA License - which applies to any content posted to any of the Stack Exchange sites - and is linked to in the Stack Exchange Network Terms of Service
I had mistakenly referred to it (in a comment) using the name CC-by-SA instead of the correct CC BY-SA (additional hyphen and lower case by).
It was pointed out to me that this incorrect usage could potentially jeopardise any legal case brought against Stack Exchange in the US.

Is this the case? Would an unintended misspelling be that serious in a legal case?

Would the fact that the misspelling occurred in a transient comment make any difference?

Would the fact that I am an elected moderator (on SU) - and therefore presumably a "representative" of Stack Exchange - make any difference? (Compared to and ordinary user making the same mistake).
Note that the Moderator Agreement explicitly states "I acknowledge and agree that I am an independent volunteer moderator to Stack Overflow and I am not an employee, agent or representative of Stack Exchange Inc., and I have no authority to bind Stack Exchange Inc. in any manner."


texts:
This is the image of my house on Google Maps:

(not really. Just to make a point).

I gave no permission to Google to publish a satellite image of my back garden (including swimming pool, children's playgrounds, etc) for all to see. And I guess probably non of you did either. And yet, there it is.

Why Google has the right to do so? Under what authority is such trespassing on privacy legal? More over, how can Google do this for every country of the world? Below is the apartment building where a former colleague lives, in North Korea:

Did the North Korean government authorise Google to publish these images? Surely not. Google maps' Terms of Service does include a note for certain countries, but not for all of them. And the notes make no reference to people authorising states to use those images.

Is Google Maps legal?


texts: Where/whom can I look/contact to find historical minutes of murder trials in former Yugoslavia (circa 1925)?

texts:
I am writing an article about an alleged female serial killer that committed over 30 murders in former Yugoslavia (now Serbia, possibly in the town of Zrenjanin) around 1925. I have found several US newspapers reporting the crimes from May 1925 where they wrote that she will soon have a preliminary hearing.
Following that trail, where or whom can I contact to find the minutes of this alleged hearings or trial?


texts:
If a chat or email provider wishes to analyze the contents of what their customers are writing, does GDPR require it to obtain the consent of everyone involved in the chat/email?

Or would the consent of one party be sufficient for the provider to analyze the chat, and then offer the results of that analysis only to that one user?


texts: Can you leave children in a car while you pay for fuel in Australia

texts:
There are laws that prohibit leaving children in a car alone that can result in fines and court attendance.

Under these laws can you be fined for leaving children in a car at a service station while paying for petrol


texts: Public figure status in Canadian defamation law

texts: Earlier this month the controversial professor Jordan Peterson of the University of Toronto became the plaintiff in a slander suit against a professor at Wilfred Laurier University. If this were in the United States, I suspect Peterson's status as a "public figure" might make it difficult or impossible for the plaintiff to prevail. What, if anything, would be the effect of that status on this lawsuit?


texts: What exactly does "It is a defense to prosecution" mean?

texts:
Consider the Texas Child Safety Laws found here: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.545.htm#545.412

It says in one place:

  (c)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the person
  was operating the vehicle in an emergency or for a law enforcement
  purpose.

And a little lower it says:

  (b)  It is a defense to prosecution of an offense to which this
  section applies that the defendant provides to the court evidence
  satisfactory to the court that:

  (1)  at the time of the offense:

  (A)  the defendant was not arrested or issued a citation for violation
  of any other offense;

  (B)  the defendant did not possess a child passenger safety seat
  system in the vehicle; and

  (C)  the vehicle the defendant was operating was not involved in an
  accident; and

  (2)  subsequent to the time of the offense, the  defendant obtained an
  appropriate child passenger safety seat system for each child required
  to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system under Section
  545.412(a).

Is "it is a defense to the prosecution" something that just suggests that the judge may, at his or her discretion, rule in favor of the defendant when s/he meets the conditions, or is this saying that the defendant, under the law, should definitely not be held guilty when proving these conditions were met?

In the first example, I would expect the defendant to be not guilty even if brought to court on multiple occasions. In the latter example, I would assume the defendant would only be let off the hook the first time but that s/he would be guilty in subsequent cases.

So to me common sense dictates that "it is a defense to the prosecution" is not a binding  statement that requires the defendant be let off the hook but rather than it's at the discretion of the judge, but I just wanted to verify that this is accurate.


texts: What's the penalty for selling stolen digital files?

texts: Is there a penalty for selling stolen digital files? Is it the same as selling other illegal goods? Is there no specific provision about it? If applicable, is there a Massachusetts-specific provision on this?


texts:
This is related to another recent question, where someone asked what are the consequences of committing copyright infringement when your boss tells you to do so.

A slighlty different case: Your boss asks you to do something that you think might be illegal, but you are not sure about it. You talk to your boss, he says he checked with his legal department and it's fine, and he even gives you this information in writing.

You do what your boss asks you to do. And it is indeed something where the average person wouldn't know for sure if it's legal or not. Problem is: The action was indeed illegal. What are the consequences for you if this is found out, given that you relied on a written statement from your boss that it is legal?


texts: Can a witness pleading the 5th be used as evidence?

texts:
In the Derek Chauvin trial, Morries Hall, a key witness for the prosecution has plead the 5th because he worries his testimony could result in charges against himself.
My question is, is the jury allowed to consider that plea as evidence Chauvin is innocent?  The logic being "It doesn't make sense for Hall to plead the 5th if Chauvin killed Floyd?  The only thing he could be hiding is his own involvement in Floyd's death."
Obviously they can't use his plea as evidence in his own trial, but he's not the one on trial now.


texts: Italian rules on the co-occurrence of directors in competing companies

texts:
I would like to know whether in Italy there are laws preventing the co-occurrence of directors (executive and/or non-executive) in competing companies.

I'm writing a paper on board interlocks (firms sharing directors) among Italian companies operating in the same industry. I know about articles 2390 and 2391 of the Civil Code and the Law No. 214/2011. Any suggestion on other relevant pieces of legislation would be very welcome.


texts: Is having a wallpaper on an office computer personal or commercial use?

texts:
If one downloads a wallpaper on an office computer for the sole purpose of putting it on one's own desktop and watching it all day (as long as there aren't any windows blocking the view at least...), is this personal use (because only that one person uses it for their own entertainment) or commercial use (because the computer is located in an office)?

Or more directly, if a website offering wallpapers as free download with the restriction of "personal, non-commercial use" in their TOS, can those wallpapers be used at work? It's a pure development computer btw, not going to be presented to customers.


texts: Would it be illegal to make a fake police car?

texts:
Suppose there were an eccentric millionaire who really wants people to drive safely around her. Could she make a fake police car and drive around in it? She would never pull anyone over or directly impersonate an officer - just a fake car.
It’s obviously not a good idea, but in looking at the law against impersonating an officer, it only seems to cover fake clothing and fake identification. Is there any law that could be used to prevent a fake car?
I know there are some vehicle codes that say civilians can’t have sirens, but let’s just say the siren is fake too.


texts: How does a layperson know whether to hire a Queen's Counsel?

texts:
1. A layperson may not know whether his/her case is complex enough to hire a Queen's Counsel. So how does a layperson decide, when deciding hiring a public access  barrister?

2. Are barristers obligated to advise a client on such a question? To wit, will a Junior Counsel truly choose to lose business, by tell a prospective client to hire a QC instead? And vice versa? Barristers may not be the most scrupulous humans (insert chiding joke about lawyers here).


texts: Can I expense a trip to a coffee shop (small business owner)

texts:
I own a small business and work out of my home. Sometimes I like to work out of a coffee shop for a few hours here and there.

Can I expense the coffee that I buy at a coffee shop?


texts: What does it mean for a patent to be subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-517?

texts:
Some NASA patents make reference to Public Law 96-517, using wording like this:

  The invention described herein was made in the performance of work
  under a NASA contract, and is subject to the provisions of Public Law
  96-517 (35 USC 202) under which the inventors were granted a request
  to retain title.

(Source: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080012292)

What does this mean in practical terms? Law 96-517 appears to be part of something coloquially called the  "Bayh-Dole Act", the contents of which seems to refer to being made in the spirit of fostering free enterprise:

  It is the policy and objective of the Congress to use the patent
  system to promote the utilization of inventions arising from federally
  supported research or development; to encourage maximum participation
  of small business firms in federally supported research and
  development efforts; to promote collaboration between commercial
  concerns and nonprofit organizations, including universities; to
  ensure that inventions made by nonprofit organizations and small
  business firms are used in a manner to promote free competition and
  enterprise without unduly encumbering future research and discovery;
  to promote the commercialization and public availability of inventions
  made in the United States by United States industry and labor; to
  ensure that the Government obtains sufficient rights in federally
  supported inventions to meet the needs of the Government and protect
  the public against nonuse or unreasonable use of inventions; and to
  minimize the costs of administering policies in this area.

This very long sentence seems to loosely imply that small business, not-for-profits and educational institutions will be able to utilise the inventions described in these patents, but I'm only guessing. I'm also interested in what this means for residents, businesses and institutions operating outside of the United States.


texts: My friend is being harassed by a non-US citizen and worry he may stalk her here...where to report it? :(

texts: My friend is being horribly stalked and harassed online by a non-US citizen who currently outside of the US, but is causing her & her family serious concern for safety & wellbeing.  He appears to have a mental disorder.  What would be the appropriate place to report this to? Thank you!


texts: Doesn't the use of precedent constitute a bandwagon fallacy?

texts:
I see widespread use of precedent in courts across the world.

In essence, to me this appears as follows:

"Just because some other people responded to x with y, then any time we see something significantly similar to x, we always respond with y."

Doesn't this constitute a logical fallacy; Argumentum ad populum?

It prevents people from forming their own opinions about x, just because some other people already made an opinion about something similar.
If abused it can mean that the particularities about this specific x are ignored.

The use of precedent seems to imply that it's more important to settle similar cases uniformly, rather than to settle them fairly and justly based on their individual merits.


texts: Where would I report a case of international financial fraud?

texts:
If I were confronted with a case of financial fraud in the United States, I would report it to a U.S. law enforcement agency, probably the FBI, or maybe the SEC.

But to whom would I report an instance of fraud by a foreign company that was subsidized by the foreign government? Would it still be the FBI, or should I try an international agency such as OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corp.), the World Court, or a multilateral agency such as WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)--this involved intellectual property?

Or should I try, say, an arm of the Commerce Department, such the International Trade Commission?

One more thing: the country in question has signed a trade treaty with my state, New York. Is it possible that New York State could handle this?


texts: Undeclared participation in wars and other armed conflict under international law

texts:
Wikipedia lists US participation in at least eight wars or armed conflicts justified by Congress's 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Terrorists (AUMF).   These include wars include:

War in Afghanistan
Yemeni Civil War
Somali Civil War
War in North-West Pakistan
Moro conflict – Philippines
Iraqi Civil War
Syrian Civil War
Second Libyan Civil War

Are the basic facts correct?

Is such participation in hostilities permissible under the Hague Convention of 1907?

Is such participation in hostilities permissible under the
United Nation's Charter, specifically Article 2, paragraph 4?

I'm aware that permanent UN security counsel members have veto power over any effective enforcement of the charter, and ask the question not seeking emotional condemnation but logical arguments addressing this under US and international law.   Obviously the war powers act is involved, but does that act support such extensive involvement without a declaration of war?


texts: Making games with multi-level marketing in game

texts:
I have a plan to create an online game with multi-level marketing.

Is it legal to create a game which costs money to buy, and then reward them with more money than they used to buy the game if three more people join using their username? (The money they are rewarded with is real money.)

If so, would it be legally classified as gambling, and would people have to be ~18 to play it?

EDIT: Please note, that all information will be present in the disclaimer, and there will be a warning of diminishing returns.

EDIT: It's an Egyptian-themed pixellated dungeon crawler .  Zero gambling in game. The only way that even vaguely resembles gambling, is to simply the possibility of buying a character, in the hopes you will be rewarded. Almost everything is accessible through one character that you can control. You might consider buying more than one character, either because you want to access different class features or for the (potential) monetary reward.


texts: Sending an Email on behalf of someone else (email spoofing)

texts:
Many phishing and spear-phishing operators employ mail spoofing techniques to get their target to open emails, read them and act on them. When acted upon, the phisher either steals something or gets control over the target's computer.

Mail spoofing is the term sending an email where the "sender address"is a valid legitimate email address. The phisher would craft the the email in such a way to entice the target to click on a link since the author of the email is either known to them, or from a respectable organisation.

You may have received emails from people complaining that you have spammed them and that they ask you to stop. That is exactly what happens when spammers, instead of phishers use mail spoofing techniques to get people to click on their links.

I am considering sending a specially crafted mail (spoofed of course) to my friends and family who claim to not be vulnerable to phishing, and especially spear-phishing attacks for the purpose of waking them up to the reality that in the last years nobody is immune from attacks, particularly identity theft.

Now to my questions ...  know that what I intend to do is quite questionable, whether for good intentions or not:

a) What is the legality of using someone else's email address as a return address? What if the address is something like potus@whithouse.gov (just came to mind)

b) What is the legality of using logos and stationary elements in an email to make it look like it came from a particular source (something like white house graphics from their website)

c) What is the legality of pasting a signature of a celebrity inside the email and signing it as that person (say Barack Obama, whose signature is available on Wikipedia?)

d) Would there be a difference if one is not an US citizen, living outside the US, but in a country with (or without) extradition agreements?

I am not really interested about any copyright / media ownership issues, but the gravity of using someone else's name / identity /reputation to make someone believe an email is real.

Please note that this would be NOT for criminal intent, so any other content / links in the email would be 100% legit.


texts: What exactly are the "Java APIs" that were under debate in Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc.?

texts: In Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., the debate was over Google's use of 37 "Java APIs" in Android, and whether or not it was fair use. However, I've never found a clear description of the nature of those Java APIs. Are they method signatures? Compiled classes? Something else? And how was the number 37 arrived at?


texts: UK gun licenses prior to Firearms Amendment Act 1988

texts:
The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 came into force as a response to the Hungerford massacre of 1987.

The perpetrator had legally owned some firearms, including a semi-automatic assault rifle.

Before the amendment came into force, what were the requirements for a UK citizen to be issued a license to possess firearms such as semi-automatic military rifles? Was there any connection to the applicants profession or could, in theory, anyone deemed sane by the authorities receive such a license?


texts: Pollard v USHS: Tuskegee under the cudgel

texts:
While reading up about infectious diseases, I came upon the case of the Tuskegee study, which in 1932 was set out to observe a group of people for 6 months and then cure them of the observed ailment syphilis, without informing the observed people that they were looking for that illness - or that it was highly transmissible. But then it was extended and ran on for more than 40 years. During the runtime researchers interfered with anyone who might treat their study group or even try to inform them. In other words, the whole thing became an ethical nightmare. The aftermath in 1974 did result in new guidelines for studies.
The CDC (linked above) does note that the class action lawsuit Pollard v U.S. Public Health Service, was brought in 1972 by Fred Gray, and settled for an amount above 9 million dollars. Which brings us to the question at hand:
What were the allegations of the class, and could the allegations have been brought had the study never been extended?


texts: Is my company legally required to remove an email from our mailing list that isn't on our mailing list?

texts:
Today a customer tried to unsubscribe from our mailing list. The email (anonymized) she entered into the unsubscribe box was x@domain.com. x@domain.com was not in our database, so the unsubscribe failed. I had a look at our database to double check, and I found that while x@domain.com is indeed not in the database, x@domain.com.au is. After more research, I found out that domain.com and domain.com.au are owned by the same company and emails addressed to either domain reach the same inbox.
So from the customer's perspective, x@domain.com is equivalent to x@domain.com.au, but from my company's database's perspective, the two emails are not equivalent. Are we breaking the law by not unsubscribing her? My gut is that it's unreasonable to expect us to know that domain.com and domain.com.au are equivalent.
I manually unsubscribed her because I understand what her intention is, but should our system handle this automatically?


texts: Is it legal in New York to deduct a full-day of PTO during a company-wide early dismissal?

texts:
I took a vacation this past week while my company held a picnic on Friday and dismissed everybody early at 3pm. I asked if I could have the two hours back (or get paid for them) since everybody else was dismissed early. I was told that since I took off, it was considered a full PTO day and that early dismissal was a benefit of having attended the picnic.

The policy was as follows:

Those who attended the picnic were paid for the full working day
Those who did not attend (but showed up to work) were clocked out at 12pm (picnic started at 12 and it was business as usual during the morning).
Employees who did not clock out were automatically clocked out at 12pm.

The policy regarding PTO was not mentioned in the email, which is why I asked.

This is for a company located on Long Island New York in Suffolk County.


texts: How Can NASA Images/Videos Not Be Copyrighted?

texts:
NASA content - images, audio, video, and computer files used in the rendition of 3-dimensional models, such as texture maps and polygon data in any format - generally are not copyrighted.

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html

Aren't works automatically protected by copyright upon creation?


texts:
If a child support order originates in a non-community property state, but the debtor lives in a community property state, does that make any difference or is it a moot point?

For example, in some states, all marital income can be considered community property.


texts: Pregnant spouse slipped abortion pills unknowingly. What would the legal ramifications be?

texts:
Suppose a partner to a pregnant woman gave her an abortion pill which successfully aborted the pregnancy. Suppose that this was done in a non-violent way, unbeknownst to the woman.

One could argue this is murder, however, if the woman took the abortion pill herself, in most parts of the USA and Europe, it would be perfectly legal and not considered murder.

I'm broadly interested to know what charges could be brought against the partner? In particular, I'm interested in why, in a locality where abortion is legal and not legally considered murder, could be compelled or forced abortion by a third party be considered murder?

I'm interested in the context of the USA and Europe in particular.

This stems from this article, whereby a man held his partner at gunpoint and forced her to ingest an abortion pill. He was charged with murder, despite abortion being legal at the time.


texts: Can I use "Donald Trump" in my brand name?

texts: I am creating an apparel brand and want to use the words "Donald Trump" in the company name. Is this illegal? I will be selling political apparel.


texts: Employer forgot to take taxes out of severance; now demanding it back or legal action. Can I just settle it with IRS?

texts:
I was laid off back in March due to COVID. My employer messed up and delayed our severance payments, so instead, they offered to cancel the original checks and send us all wire payments.
When we got the wire payment, no taxes were taken out, so the payment was the agreed-upon GROSS instead of NET. Now they are demanding we repay them for the unheld taxes (thousands of dollars), or else they'll consider legal action.
My accountant told me I can just settle it with the IRS when filing next year, but can my former employer really take legal action or involve collections here? Is it just a threat? Not sure why they're so concerned when it's really the government's money...


texts: Are single-letter programming language names trademarkable?

texts:
It's no secret that the name of some programming languages are single-letter (sometimes with some non-letter characters) such as C, C++, C#, D, etc.
A previous question asked about the situation of copyright of programming language name(s), and the answer lists Apple's Swift OOP language as an example of trademarked programming language names.
What this post asks is that: are single-letter programming language names trademarkable, both as plain text and as visual design, considering the name in on itself has little to no novelty.


texts: What is the retention periods for employees data in Germany?

texts:
Being concerned by my privacy and the data held by my former employers, I am wondering how long German companies can keep data about their employees?

The question is quite open on purpose, since I am wondering about all kind of data (application documents, personal information, salary slips, etc.).

Best regards


texts: Will a site get into trouble if it's users use it's resources for unethical/unhealthy things on the internet?

texts:
Take the site 10minutemail.com for example. What if someone uses the temporary email and logs into somewhere on the internet and does something illegal. When the investigations happen, the email will link back to 10minutemail.com and then the investigators will probably sue 10minutemail.

In situations like these, how would they save themselves? Because, I don't see any "Terms and Conditions" in their site as well.

Also, does having a "Terms of service" help in any way here?

EDIT:

I am building a site which, technically is similar to the one I've mentioned. This site is being built and hosted in India, so the law here might be different from the ones in some other country. So, it would be helpful if someone could give some info keeping the country India in mind.


texts: Is Monopoly protected by copyright & trademark?

texts: Would a person need to licence the copyright in order to make and distribute a Monopoly video game?


texts:
I just found out about a patent application filed in 2004
covering creating legal contracts using templates.  It's being pushed again:
http://www.google.com/patents/US20060287966

Surely legal firms have been doing this before 2004?

Bit worried that what we currently do (making legal documents from templates) will suddenly be patented and we'll be forced into an untenable situation in the US.
Any thoughts, history or prior art anyone?


texts: Sandy Hook defamation case and opinions based on disclosed facts

texts:
(Note that I 100% think the Sandy Hook shootings were 100% real.)

From a BBC article:

  In June a Wisconsin judge ruled that James Fetzer had defamed Leonard Pozner by claiming he had fabricated the death certificate of his son Noah.

  ...

  In his book, written with co-author Mike Palacek, Mr Fetzer claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, ...

Which means that the following defense did not work:

"Fetzer concluded, based on disclosed facts X, Y and Z that the Sandy Hook shootings were a hoax, and therefore Noah's death certificate must be fake."

So, why didn't it work?  If the reasoning used is illogical enough then "opinion based on disclosed facts" doesn't apply?  Because Fetzer went beyond just saying that the death certificate was fake, and more specifically said that Leonard Pozner himself had faked it?


texts: Is it illegal in the United States for a journalist to take photographs of a letter of correspondence with a foreign official?

texts:
This was inspired by this question asked on Politics.SE here:

https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/42357/can-a-us-president-have-someone-sent-to-prison

and the linked incident:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48696131

where that, apparently, a journalist interviewing United States President Donald Trump was shown a letter that had been penned to him by Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un, and the journalist received a stern warning from Trump that they could be sent to prison for taking and making off with photographic copies of the letter. Now the first linked answers say that the President "cannot just send someone to prison" and comments reference how that "bills of attainder" are Constitutionally disallowed. However it seems most if not all the answerers missed or overlooked what to me seems like an extremely crucial detail: In the recounting of events in the news report, it is said that Trump gave the journalist the letter "confidentially", which seems like it could very much change things if that declaration carries some kind of legal force.

So my questions about this incident are:

What, if anything, legally constitutes "giving in confidentiality" a letter of correspondence penned by a foreign official, to someone else, by the President of the United States? Can such a thing simply be claimed by the President on a whim, or does it have to be in writing (say a "CONFIDENTIAL" stamp) on the letter in order to have legal force if it is capable of bearing such?
Is wilful disregard of such a command a criminal offense, as opposed to some other category of legal infraction?
If so and the President were to order criminal prosecution of this journalist in this situation for such, what would be the probability to secure a conviction under these circumstances?
Does the statute criminal penalty for such putative offense include prison time, and if so, would the journalist be likely to receive it in this case under conviction, and if so, how much given precedent?
What is the possible extent of collateral consequences on the offender's life for conviction for a crime under this statute (chiefly an answer to this  point basically amounts to simply saying whether it's a misdemeanor or felony, since there is virtually no more nuance to such 'collateral consequences' than that pittance of a distinction under the extant legal regime, and there are too many to list, but a misdemeanor generally activates less than a felony)?
Is there a reasonable argument that could be made that this law and/or exercise of it in the very specifically defined circumstances that this case represents, and in particular against a journalist, could be challenged in court, and with a significant likelihood (def: >25%) of success, on grounds of it and its enforcement constituting a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, in particular regarding the freedom of the press? If so, how, and if not, why not?

Thanks.


texts:
Imagine writing an article or book about philosophy that includes an examination of the lyrics to Don McLean's song American Pie.

Obviously, it would be illegal to post the complete lyrics, since they're copyrighted.

But would it be legal to post the lyrics one verse at a time, followed by a discussion of that lyrics's meaning?

For example, the first section/chapter would begin with the lyrics...

  A long long time ago

  I can still remember . . . And maybe they'd be happy for a while

Or if six lines is too excessive, that verse could be split into two sections...

  A long long time ago

  I can still remember how

  That music used to make me smile

The lyrics would then be followed by a brief comment or analysis, like this...

"McLean was simply reminiscing about the music he enjoyed when he was younger."


texts: Landlord required to divulge tenant identity

texts:
A new law requires landlords to provide the following
information about their tenants:

Name
Who is "head of household"
Phone number
Age (approximate)

Then the tenant is required to go to the town office
and provide a state-issued id to confirm their
identity.

I would like to know if this violates tenant privacy
(or some existing law).

If the lease has no tenant privacy statement, does
that mean that no information can be disclosed by the
landlord?  Or does it mean that any information can be
disclosed?
If the lease has a privacy statement, does that
prevent the disclosure of this information?  Or does
the new law over-ride what is written in the lease?

On several websites is says that landlords must not
give out "private" information, but it is not clear to me
if that means revealing the identity of a tenant.

The stated purpose of the new law is so that police and
fire department will know who resides if they are called
to a dwelling

In case it matters, this is in Pennsylvania.


texts: Is It Legal to Mention “The Creator” in U.S. Public Schools?

texts:
I give lots of guest presentations to K-18 schools/universities all over the world. Since the subject is Space exploration, I frequently feel the need to invoke (using one of these very "generic" terms) "The Almighty," or "The Creator" (i.e. I NEVER use the terms "God," "Allah," "Bhagavan," etc).
When presenting in the United States at a public school, is it "legal" to do so? Being unsure, in the past, I generally have avoided the subject altogether.


texts: Is executing code from external server banned on Google Play?

texts:
I am creating a program that needs to download additional code and resources from external server. (Of course that code is safe).
Is it illegal on Google Play?

These additional assemblies will not be tested by Google. Could be my account or program banned? Will Google think, that I want to harm my users, or I am creating a virus?

This program is created in Xamarin (C#) and I uses System.Reflection to load assemblies from downloaded DLL files.
Thanks for help!


texts: Is it perjury if I accidentally make a false statement under oath, but fail to correct it once I realized?

texts:
This answer claims that you are required to correct an accidental false statement made under oath:

  When you become aware that a statement made under oath was false
  (assuming such a statement was made), then in maintaining the
  falsehood, that would be intentional deceit.

Is this true? In particular, could an accidental false statement (which, being accidental, would not be perjury) become "upgraded" to a perjury once the person realizes it to be wrong?

I searched around a bit, but could not find any mention that there is a duty to correct an accidental mistake once you become aware of it.

The U.S. Code does not mention anything about corrections in § 1621 - Perjury generally.
German law lists a later correction of a perjury as a mitigating circumstance (Strafgesetzbuch § 158 - Berichtigung einer falschen Angabe), however this only applies if the original misstatement was intentional.

I'm particularly interested in answers about the USA or Germany, but general answers are also fine.


texts: In the UK, under what circumstances is the prosecution not allowed to appeal?

texts:
I'm currently reading Tom Bingham's The Rule of Law, it says:

Thirdly, the Attorney General can seek leave to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient. Occasional cases had arisen in which public opinion was, rightly, outraged by the inadequacy of sentences passed on convicted defendants, against which the prosecution could not appeal

So I'm confused about this statement. When can't the prosecution appeal?


texts: How to prove that your Intellectual Property (IP) was stolen

texts:
Is there a way to prove that your computer program code was stolen?

The only way I've thought of is visual inspection but unless it is open-source I don't know how one could get access to the other party's source code.


texts:
2 cars collide in a minor collision. The drivers are both insured with the same insurance company and both have comprehensive insurance.

The insurance company comes up with a determination that both parties are partly at fault and charge BOTH parties the full insurance excess.   Is this legal ?   (I postulate that the insurance company is acting in bad faith, because they are trying to reduce the payout).  Does it matter if the parties are equally at fault or 1 party is 75% at fault and the other 25%

(Please assume for the sake of this question that there is nothing in the insurance policies which specifically talks about partial fault).

The jurisdiction here is New Zealand, but I would be interested in how this scenario is handled in other jurisdictions as well.


texts: Can a shipping company offer a parcel delivery that does not include at least one attempt to deliver?

texts:
Suppose you order some item online and then you pay a shipping company to deliver the item to your home address. What exactly is the shipping company contractually obligated to do?
In spite of how this process is desribed, the shipping company does not make a promise to actually deliver the package to you. But it was my understanding that they are obligated to make an attempt at delivery. So they have to bring the package to your address and if you are not there this is not their problem and they have fulfilled their part of the deal anyway. You get a note in your mail box and can then pick up the package at a location of their choosing. So far so good.
Recently I had a situation where the package never came near my home address at all. After the announced delivery date the online status of the shipping company changed. The wording was something like 'We planned to deliver the package today but were too busy with other things. So we didn't manage to come by your house. Please pick up the package at the following post office.' No note or similar was in my mail box.
I don't know whether somewhere in the fine print it says that they are allowed to do that. But it seems to me they can't sell a service 'delivery of package to specified address' if this kind of thing is allowed. That looks like writing a contract for some service and then writing in the fine print you might not actually do it. It also seems wide open to large scale abuse by the shipping company (it happened to me only once). Is this legal?
Jurisdiction was Germany.


texts: Legal Obligations of the Designated Next of Kin – The Deceased Lived Overseas

texts:
I find myself in the position of Next of Kin to handle the arrangements for my estranged father. He passed away in a South East Asian Country where he was a permanent resident.
I was contacted by the U.S. Embassy there first. He has another child in the US. Attempts to contact them over the last week, mine and those from the Embassy, have not yielded results. My final option is to inform them via mail.
Information:

The Embassy required I fill out an affidavit for surviving Next of Kin.
The deceased lived from Social Security.
It does not appear that he left a will, or named an Executor.
I have no financial interest in his estate. I will not make a claim.
I am being encouraged to move forward with his funeral arrangements.
He has a friend there who wishes to handle his cremation and funeral, whom I want to authorize to do so.
I do not have contact to his friend. The friend contacted the Embassy.

The closest question I found was this one. The question assumes not handling any arrangements as Next of Kin which is opposite to mine.
My questions are:

What are my legal obligations as Next of Kin when placed in the position to make decisions?
What are some of the potential legal issues that can arise from the situation?

Thank you in advance.
Update:
I have yet to submit the affidavit, which still needs to be notarized. I was in the process of doing so when I felt the need to ask for advice. I was not originally going to do it, but the Consul officer stressed the issue for several days and trivialized it to funeral arrangements.

What will happen if I do not submit the form DS5511 now?
Can I be forced to take care of my father's affairs if my sibling refuses?
Do I need to take further steps to protect myself?


texts:
I am an Individual developer.I am making a game.I like to know can i apply for patent or is there any way to protect that game concept/idea,So that if any other developer or company wants to use that concept/idea in there game.They have to take my permission.
Example like there are many racing game but i just make a racing game in which players race backward.I just change concept of game.

By definition, a patent is a protection for your intellectual property
(that you invented) from being copied. In the case of your game idea,
in the form of a patent, it is considered your invention.
A patent is unique in the fact that it can protect your idea.
The concept for your game that is uniquely yours can be patented and
the idea behind it protected.

Source:https://www.gamedesigning.org/career/sell-game-idea/
So i like to know did my this change in concept can be patented or is there any other way to protect that concept.


texts: Who is liable when a consumer sues a company?

texts:
Recently, a vegan customer sued Burger King because a plant-based burger he bought at a Burger King franchise was cooked on a grill also used for cooking meat.

This got me thinking: who would usually be liable for this sort of case?

Would it be...

the franchisor (Burger King),
the franchisee (the actual restaurant owner), or
the employee

I'm interested in not only the answer in Florida, where this occurred, but in other places around the world too.

My question is not entirely specific to this example: I'm asking in general. If, for example, an employee cooked a vegan patty on a meat grill even though it shouldn't have been done, as per company rules, would they be liable , or the franchisee, or the franchisor?


texts: What's the total value for customs of a check?

texts:
I work for a non-profit company in the accounts payable department (we don't pay taxes in most states... as long as we are in the state, I think). My boss was gone for the day and I had an urgent check to be mailed out. Last time, I sent it via USPS and it magically made it to Canada after two weeks. This time, we needed it to be overnighted. I started filling out FedEx's International Air Waybill form. Then I saw the bottom and started thinking... is a piece of paper that happens to be a check worth more than an empty piece of paper? To the company listed, surely, but to the government? They can't cash the check, their name isn't listed. So I asked around and nobody had any idea. So I put the value of the check and sent it. Did I do the right thing? And did I scam the government the last time?

TLDR; I recently sent out a check to Canada (at work) and didn't know what to put in the FedEx Intrnational Air Waybill form for the value of a check. What should I have put/ should I put in the future?


texts: Am I liable for the unlicenced use of something licensed to me by someone without the rights to licence it?

texts:
Imagine the following: Some one posts on SO and describes in his post something by an embedded picture.

This is (as non special licensing or CR was mentioned) same as publishing as CC-BY-SA. But what now if the poster wasn't allowed to do so? What if I'm expecting he was (everything else would destroy the idea of open source) authorized to do so and used it in a way, that the original license, CR and limitations would have forbidden.

Would I be liable for it? If so, how to protect against?


texts: Confused as to the waiting period required after getting an order

texts:
A default judgement was awarded. It seems there are contradicting orders in how much time one must wait to get it enforced:

As set out in 58.1 (3) of the CRTA, a part may only enforce this order
if the time for making a notice of objection has passed and a Notice
of Objection has not been filed. The party in default has no right to
make a Notice of Object, as set out in section 56.1(2.1) of the CRTA.

However I was also told

Please note that you may only enforce this order if the time for making a Notice of Objection has
passed. Please be advised that a Notice of Objection may be made by a
participating party in a small claims proceeding who disagrees with
the decision issued by the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT).

These seem to contradict. This is a default judgment, and the other party did default. So doesn't the first paragraph apply and it can be enforced it ASAP? I asked the tribunal and they basically said hire a lawyer if I don't understand the decision.


texts: What basis did Executive Order 9066 have in preexisting legislation?

texts:
From various Supreme Court rulings, we can see that "The President's power, if any, to issue [an Executive] order must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution itself." - Mr. Justice Black, majority opinion for Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 585 (1952).

However, various Executive Orders didn't seem to have their basis in preexisting legislation or in the constitution: Namely, Executive Order 9066. Despite that, this Executive Order was still deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court.

What basis, if any, did that order have in legislation or the US Constitution?


texts: What does "reasonable grounds" mean in this Victorian Law?

texts:
In Victoria Australia, this piece of legislation exists:

PARLIAMENTARY PRECINCTS ACT 2001 - SECT 16
An authorised officer may direct a person to leave or not to enter the
Parliamentary precincts if the authorised officer believes on
reasonable grounds that the direction is necessary for the good order
and security of the Parliamentary precincts.

My question is, under Victorian or relevant Australian law, what constitutes "reasonable grounds" and what does "good order" mean?
My other question is, can this law be used in a preemptive manner in that an "authorised officer" may give directions based on the past behaviour of the directee in unrelated circumstances outside of parliamentary grounds?


texts: What level of fiduciary duty does a corporation have to convertible note holders?

texts:
My understanding is that corporations and their officers have the fiduciary duties of loyalty and care to stockholders, but not to debtholders.

Convertible notes are hybrid instruments; they are debt that is convertible into equity at the option of the holder at a predetermined rate. What level of fiduciary duty does a corporation have to holders of such instruments? That of a debtholder, an equity holder, or some "hybrid" level.


texts: Is money received for donating blood supposed to be listed on income taxes?

texts:
My question pertains to law in the United States.
In the United States, when people donate blood plasma, they are sometimes given money. For example $50.00, to spend 4 hours donating 880ml of blood plasma.
Legally speaking, is this income supposed to be reported to the United States Internal Revenue Service?


texts: Reimbursement for business use of personal phone

texts:
I work at a small company located in California. The company has indicated that they would like to begin forwarding all calls outside of business hours to my phone.

In actuality there would be very few calls going to my phone. I understand that in California, the company is required to either provide me with a company-issued phone for business purposes or provide me with some type of reimbursement. My question is whether the reimbursement is based on usage? In other words, can the company tell me that they are not obligated to reimburse me if very few or no calls end up going to my phone?


texts: Partial payment of registration fee required?

texts:
I am a 17-year-old student. In summer 2016, I registered for a MUN (Model United Nations) in Friedrichshafen, Germany. After two months, I lost interest in attending the conference set for October 23rd.
The conference costs 40$, a fee to be payed until some day in September. I never payed the fee and continued to ignore their e-mails about the fee deadlines, until I got a message, asking me to either transfer the full amount of money and join the conference, or cancel my registration and transfer half of the amount, as "the conference could only be cancelled without additional fees until Semptember 2nd."
In the following, you can see a picture of the form used to register, stating

  Please be aware that you can cancel your registration with full payback only until the 2nd of September.

I have not signed any paper document. Even though the prevailing legal situation in Germany might be different than in the USA, could this issue (given my continuing refusal to pay), if brought to court, have any success?


texts: GDPR Requiring consent to give up privacy

texts:
A website that I visited posted the following: “YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT TO US. New regulations in your country require you to agree to our terms of use agreement and privacy policy before you can continue using this website”

The first sentence is an obvious lie (they only care about my data, not my privacy). But I would have thought GDPR required them to respect my privacy, not deny access.

Is what they are doing (only allowing access in exchange for giving up privacy rights) legal under GDPR?


texts: Excluding yourself from a class action lawsuit and then suing based on the settlement in small claims?

texts: The equifax class action lawsuit seems to have been settled, but it seems clear that people aren't going to get the expected payout. If I really wanted to stick it to Equifax for what I consider negligence; could I sue them in small claims court? Does it matter if my state (Colorado) was or was not part of the team that sued them as part of the class?


texts: Does COPPA restrict collecting city location from kids under 13?

texts:
The FTC states that "A home or other physical address including street name and name of a city" is considered personal information under COPPA.

Does that mean that city name alone is restricted as is street name + city? (i.e. is that statement a logical AND vs OR)

We are trying to give kids the ability to compare their sport speeds (i.e. running, sprinting etc.) to kids their own age in their city or the entire state. It seems odd that city is considered private information. We would like to store that a 9 year old in some city X sprinted at Y speed. It seems like it is benign information to store. If it is restricted, is there another way to store that data in a COPPA compliant way?


texts:
In 1989, Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris unanimously declared New York City’s Board of Estimate Unconstitutional, as it violated the “one man, one vote” principle derived form 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection standard.

The Board of Estimate made almost all municipal decisions, and was occupied by eight ex oficio members:

The Mayor of New York City
The New York City Comptroller
The President of the New York City Council
The Borough President of the Bronx
The Borough President of Brooklyn
The Borough President of Manhattan
The Borough President of Queens
The Borough President of Staten Island

The first three were elected in a city-wide election, and had 2 votes on the Board, while the Borough Presidents, elected by residents of their respective Borough’s, each held one vote on the Board.

The Supreme Court ruled the Board Unconstitutional because residents of Queens, the least populous Borough, had the same representation as the members of the most populous Borough, Brooklyn.

The problem, with this unanimous decision, is that this allegation simply isn’t true. As the three officers who held the most power (controlling 6 out of the 11 votes) were elected City-Wide. Therefore, the members of the more populous Borough, Brooklyn, would have more representation.

I don’t claim to smarter than the Supreme Court, so, what am I missing?


texts: Is "conflict of interest" applicable to entertainment and music industries?

texts:
A simplified version of the general way people usually understand the concept of "conflict of interest" can be found on Wikipedia:

"More generally, conflicts of interest can be defined as any situation in which an individual or corporation (either private or governmental) is in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit."

From what I understand, being in the capacity to help hire one of your friends or family members to a sought-after position or a financially benefitting position constitutes a "conflict of interest" and can break a "duty of loyalty (cf Wikipedia article).

Nevertheless, there are hundreds of famous "families" in the arts and entertainment industries (the Afflecks, the Barrymores, the Baldwins, Brodericks, Brlins, Buseys, Chaplins, Presleys... full list here).

In some cases, I understand that it could be out of pure luck that a famous person's family member would also end up having a position in the entertainment industry.

In many other cases, I believe that someone's "helping a friend out" or just placing their friends or relatives into the business.

Does this not count as a conflict of interest?

Legislation for which I'm interested: USA


texts: Is it legal for a website to require registration in order to submit a DMCA?

texts:
This is about one of the big file sharing websites that currently has 30+ links to my original content. I sent them an official DMCA, they replied to make a registration on their website and use their own form in order to submit the links.

I already sent them an official DMCA, are they allowed to do this?

Furthermore, they rejected my registration twice, because the email doesn't match to some domain.

Is that legal too? I thought they are required to remove the links when they are officially notified my a DMCA.


texts:
In Florida, HOAs are required to provide records to owners.   Owners must provide a written request for.  Is an email to the hired record keeper a written request?

Update: Assume for the exercise that recipient replies to the message indicating that the message is read.


texts: Can state lawmakers who participated in the Capitol riot be removed through the 14th Amendment?

texts:
It has been reported that at least one sitting state lawmaker participated in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The 14th Amendment, section 3, says:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector
of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the
Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection
or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies
thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House,
remove such disability.

So someone who engaged in "insurrection or rebellion against" the US Constitution cannot be a state legislator (or other type of federal or state official). My questions are:

Could the storming of the US Capitol count as insurrection against the Constitution for the purposes of section 3 of the 14th Amendment?
Does Congress need to pass a law to implement section 3 of the 14th Amendment before it can be invoked? or is it self-implementing?
What would be the process to disqualify or remove a federal or state official under section 3 of the 14th Amendment? Who has standing to make the complaint? What court can the complaint be made in?


texts: Can a landlord demand that a house rented when new be returned to "new" condition?

texts:
We are living in California. In our lease agreement, it states under the "condition" section:

  Tenant acknowledges these items are clean and operable condition,
  with the following exceptions: Tenant acknowledges that the building
  and everything in it is new.

Now we plan to move out. The house has regular wear-and-tear, no excessive wear. The landlord says he will renovate the house at our expense to bring it back to "new" condition.

We say it is unlawful to demand a house back in "new" condition that has appropriate wear-and-tear. It also states in the contract:

  All or any portion of the security deposit may be used, as reasonably
  necessary, to: (i) cure Tenant's default in payment of Rent (which
  includes Late Charges, NSF fees or other sums due); (ii) repair
  damage, excluding ordinary wear and tear, caused by Tenant or by a
  guest or licensee of Tenant; (iii) clean Premises, if necessary, upon
  termination of the tenancy; and (iv) replace or return personal
  property or appurtenances. SECURITY DEPOSIT SHALL NOT BE USED BY
  TENANT IN LIEU OF PAYMENT OF LAST MONTH'S RENT. If all or any portion
  of the security deposit is used during the tenancy, Tenant agrees to
  reinstate the total security deposit within five days after written
  notice is delivered to Tenant. Within 21 days after Tenant vacates the
  Premises, Landlord shall: (1) furnish Tenant an itemized statement
  indicating the amount of any security deposit received and the basis
  for its disposition and supporting documentation as required by
  California Civil Code § 1950.5(g); and (2) return any remaining
  portion of the security deposit to Tenant.

Who is right?


texts: Clothing brand shown in videos for an app

texts:
We shot some videos to be used for our app.
All the models signed a paper, saying that they give all rights of the videos, and they understand that their image can be edited.

However in some of the videos there is a clothing brand  shown.

Will I have issues if I publish the videos as is with the clothing brand on it? Will I have issues if I edit the video so that the clothing brand name is not visible? What is the best option here? From a business point of view, I would prefer to remove the brands so that I'll be open to future proposals. (Can they copyright the designs?)


texts: I'm a co-owner of some commercial property in Louisiana.  One of the co-owners wants to rent out part of the property; however, I don't agree with the terms.  Apparently he has already granted access to someone to start setting up his business in that part of the property.  I never signed any kind of contract to allow this.  Can I do anything to stop this from happening?  As a co-owner, am I allowed to force the renter out of the building?


texts: I have produced a couple of wordclouds and charts using packages in R. Is it ok to use  Wordcloud and ggplot2 packages (they are licenced under GPL and LGPL) commercially for producing documents and charts?


texts: Is it legal to monitor an employee's computer usage without their knowledge, in Portugal?

texts:
I've posted a question that had some legal repercussions in workplace.stackexchange.com, which is off-topic over there, so I'm asking the legal part of it here.

The situation is this. I'm a (inexperienced) system's administrator. I've been approached by my boss about his suspicions that an employee is playing video games at work. I've also been approached by the employee's coworker, who reported seeing weird flashes from his monitor, and that when someone gets close he switches to work related windows. That coworker was motivated to talk to me because he's overburden with work while his co-worker is lagging behind.

One day, after hours, his boss was snooping around on the employee's pc and asked me for help. We found Diablo 3 installed in the pc, and browser history containing some dating websites. Following these findings, the boss asked me to monitor his computer to get concrete data on those activities.

I can do that from a technical perspective, but I worry that doing so without his knowledge might be legally problematic, especially with the dating sites involved, it's possible I may come across very sensitive information.


texts: Which powers can the President delegate to other officers or employees of the Executive Branch?

texts:
The President is the head of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. As the head of the branch a lot of things are formally done by the President, but in actuality many tasks are performed by other Executive Branch employees.

What determines which acts must be done by the President and which acts the President can delegate? It seems pretty clear that signing of legislation must be done by the President directly. How about other things? Can the President delegate the authority to commute or issue pardons? What is the test by which this is analyzed?


texts: Am I allowed to use a students license for my Bachelor Thesis at work?

texts:
I am doing a integrated degree program in Germany. As a student, I have free access for a variety of software programs. It is important that I may not use these for commercial purposes.

I am now working on my Bachelor Thesis and would like to use such a program. Part of the things I will be doing with it will be only for the theoretical sections of the Thesis. Other Parts will most likely be used commercially by my company later on. Am I allowed to use my personal student's license?

The FAQ on their website does not clarify this case. Their License Terms state that I may not "use Products for any commercial purposes". The problem is that I am not sure, if this is a commercial purpose. I want to use the software "PyCharm".

Thank you!


texts: What happens if I licensed a contribution to an open source project but it is discovered that I did not have the right to do so?

texts:
Suppose I made a patch to Linux kernel. I am supposed to confirm that I own the code. (Forgive me if "own" is not the correct term.) As I understand, this is a specific case of a general concept called a "contributor license agreement", and I am to sign it rather often if I wish to contribute to high-profile open source projects.

However, there may happen a case that I write the code not in my spare time but while working for hire. Or otherwise not own the rights I am attempting to transfer to the maintainers of the project I am contributing to. That may get discovered quite long a time after the contribution is made, so the code may be in use by many people out there.

What legal actions may the actual owner of the code attempt, if we suppose that they hate everyone else in the world and want to inflict as much harm as they could, and possibly also obtain money?
How much of the suffering outlined above will fall on:

Myself?
The maintainers of the project I wrongfully contributed to?
The users of the project?

P.S. I would especially enjoy an answer that highlights the difference between me pushing the code I do not own while signing a license agreement, and pushing the same code while not being required to sign anything − i.e. how does the requiring of a contributor to sign an agreement change the situation, for all the sides involved.


texts: US juror qualification: could a stripper be a juror on a Sunday school teacher?

texts:
I have just watched the "Eleven Angry Jurors", a sequel with the CSI, Crime Scene Investigation. One of the jurors was a stripper. The case was described as a high-profile, murder.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534680/

US courts explain a juror has to be a United States citizen, at least 18 years of age, reside primarily in the judicial district for one year, be adequately proficient in English to satisfactorily complete the juror qualification form, and have no disqualifying mental or physical condition; he or she also cannot be currently subject to felony charges punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, and he or she must never have been convicted of a felony (unless civil rights have been legally restored).

http://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service/juror-qualifications

There would not be mention on potential for social bias. I imagine, a stripper would be biased against a religious spinster, as a Sunday school teacher, and well, a stripper would not be my idea for the law.


texts:
I have a sub-dermal haemangioma on the side of my face, its barely visible, and its been there since I was young. We had it looked at by a professional when I was child and it was never officially diagnosed, as it is benign and mostly topical, the doctor said not to mess with it and that it would go away with age. Some 20 years later it began to reemerge and I felt it was time to have it fully diagnosed which is when we determined the above classification a sub-dermal haemangioma.

The insurance paid for the entire diagnosis from MRI to angiogram to determine if it had inter-cranial vessels, however they are refusing to pay for treatment given that they claim it was "pre existing."

  "Our medical advisor has emphasized, that the fact that you were not
  previously in discomfort/pain does not change the fact that the
  condition was already present since you were 3 years old. Therefore,
  the condition already existed before you applied for your insurance
  with us."

According to my insurance provider: A pre-existing condition is a medical condition that has been established prior to the inception date of your insurance coverage. Therefore, wouldn't they have to be able to prove that this was an established issue prior to insurance? There are no official records on my first visit to the physician when I was younger. And sure, this may have been there before I obtained their insurance, however it was unknown to me in that it didn't erupt until after I had insurance. According to my doctor these things can even grow inside you and you wouldn't be the wiser unless you started feeling discomfort.


texts: How negligent does a prison have to be before becoming liable for harm to a prisoner?

texts:
This question is prompted by this news story:

A hastily executed transfer of nearly 200 people in California’s prison system set off a public health disaster that endangered the lives of thousands of prisoners and staff and led to dozens of deaths, according to a new report from the state’s office of the inspector general (OIG).

So is there any point where a prisoner (or their estate) can claim compensation for harm they suffered? Presumably a prisoner who was left without food or water, or was clearly injured but denied access to medical care, would be able to claim. What about a case like this?
Given that prisoners have no say in what happens to them, to what extent does the state owe an enforceable duty of care to avoid exposing prisoners to foreseeable harms? Is there any criminal liability for gross negligence?
I'm asking specifically about this case in California, but other jurisdictions would be of interest too.


texts: How do banks (in Switzerland and elsewhere) protect bank secrecy while adhering to government oversight?

texts:
Are banks in countries with strong secrecy laws (like Switzerland) letting the government see their account balances for oversight and tax compliance purposes?
If so, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of such laws?
And if not, who's guaranteeing that those banks are collecting the right amount of taxes (even if the right amount is a very low amount)?


texts: Is it illegal to touch someone without permission in Canada? Can a girl punch a guy without getting in trouble in Canada?

texts: We were having an in school field trip and got put into random groups. I was with 2 dudes and 1 girl. 1 dude kept putting his arm on my desk and I asked him to remove it.Then he kept touching me. It was a very light punch, out still technically a punch on my arm. I told him to stop touching me, but he kept doing it so I told his mom who was volunteering at the field trip. She told him to stop, out he kept doing it, the light punch on my arm. He eventually stopped, but it ruined my field trip and I can't reverse time so I have to get revenge. At recess, I told m home room teacher, but I don't think she considered it a big deal. I didn't see her talk to him or receive an apology so I am not sure what to do. I think the law will help me when I take this to bigger authority. By the way, was Friday and should I just leave it alone? Anyways, was it illegal or not? If this doesn't work, I just want to give his a hard punch and I heard it was illegal for him to punch me back so yeah.


texts: About to fill the paperwork to create an organization: should it be a business or a non-profit?

texts:
I'm building a product that you would think is perfect for the typical "startup" scenario.
However, I hate everything that usually involves startups: I don't want to raise money (I want this product to be bootstrapped), I don't want to have equity, I don't want to have investors, I don't want to have shares, etc.
I simply want my product to bring enough revenue to cover some salaries (and if it keeps growing, just hire more people and increase the salaries).
So then I have two questions:

Would then this count as a 501(c)(3) non-profit (or any other non-profit type)?
I've read about how normally some non-profit organizations (such as Foundations) work, but I'm not interested in those legalities either (e.g. having a foundation board whose members are not employed by the foundation and don't receive a salary from it, etc). Is there any non-profit org model that is simpler and has a simple hierarchical structure?


texts: Can online gambling sites bias their games?

texts:
There's biases in gambling, such as the 0 on a roulette table, but that is arguably obvious to the player.

Is it legal for online casinos to knowingly or unknowingly bias their games at a software level (random number generator etc) in their favour? Could something like this be covered in the small print?

A problem with RNGs is they all have a bias, we have no perfect system of generating random numbers, but if a bias is detected by the casino, would they legally be required to adjust or change the system they're using?

Specifically I'm interested in the UK and anywhere notable in the US, or if there's somewhere in particular gambling websites set themselves up to avoid these regulations. It would also be interesting to see if the more popular gambling websites worldwide have any common locations.

This seems to cover randomness in the UK, does it apply to card games?
(under section Randomness)

http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/gambling/Regulations/onlinegamblingsystemverification.pdf


texts: How to do discovery on non-party unnamed witness?

texts:
How does one do discovery on a non-party only the opposing party knows?

Suppose the opposing party filed a motion and an adequate response to the motion will require that discovery be done on some of the people referenced in the motion,  how does one go about getting the witness' name and contact info?  Can/should the discovery be served on the unnamed witness via the defendant's attorney?  Email the defendant's attorney and ask?


texts: Can choosing a username with corporate terms be a violation of the law?

texts:
I recently answered this excellent question on the Software Recommendations SE: Method/Software to rename multiple files in ascending numerical order regardless of file type?
I just noticed the username of the person who posted the question: "amazonprime".  I got a good chuckle out of the clever name, and moved on.
Then my curious mind started to wonder: "Could using such a name be a violation of law?"
Well, I have no idea, so I figured I would ask here.
I see two possible issues:

The use of the word "Amazon".
The use of the words "Amazon" and "Prime" together.

Is either a legal issue?
(Personally, I hope not, because I think the choice of username is clever and humourous.)
I won't be using my moderator status to look up the user's jurisdiction just to ask this question.  Would that detail even matter?


texts: How far does Programming Language license go?

texts:
I know that source code can have a license. For example, if my code is released under GPL(e.g. v2), there are some restrictions that say what anyone who wants to use my code must do.

I've found a tutorial for SDL(lazyfoo). There's FAQ.

One of the points mentions "translating the code to the other programming languages". The author strictly prohibits this. Is this backed up by law? Can an author of the code forbid me from rewriting his code into other lanuage, and if yes, what are limitations of what can I (re)write?


texts: Why am I given a contract for services instead of a contract for employment?

texts:
I work at a UK university doing part-time teaching. I was looking into statutory sick pay recently, which I see can be claimed by someone on an employment contract. When I look at my contract with the university, I see that they have given me a contract for services. They explicitly state a couple of times in the contract that it is not a contract for employment.
I can see why it would be advantageous for the University not to have to pay me sick pay when I'm ill. Are there any other reasons why they may have given me a contract for services instead of a contract for employment? Are there any potential positive aspects for me about having a contract for services?
I had a look at a definition here, and it says that a contract for services is for "appointing a genuinely self-employed individual such as a consultant". Before looking at my contract more carefully in the last couple of days, I had always understood my relationship with the university to be as an employee. I can't see what about my job there makes me a "genuinely self-employed individual", apart from the fact that the university have chosen to define my role in that way. To me it feels disingenuous to have been given this contract for services  instead of a contract for employment, and I suspect that the university have done this for the purpose of avoiding any benefits that come along with an employment contract such as statutory sick pay. Does anybody know if it is standard for UK universities to use contracts for services for their part-time teaching work?
Is there any way that I could reasonably raise this with the university, or with my academic department, to try to be treated as an employee rather than self-employed? Maybe it would be best for me to speak to the teaching union?


texts: Is it legal use parody products for commercial purposes?

texts:
I am future T-Shirt seller. I don't want to have problems with copyright for my designs. So I have made some research and learned that parody is fair use.

Can I sell below parody T-Shirts? (Parody of Superman, and Parody of GodFather).


texts: Under California law, where are all the unmarked crosswalks located?

texts:
As I understand, "unmarked crosswalk" refers to any area implicitly defined by the law as a crosswalk. For example, an unmarked crosswalk usually exists where one road meets another.

CVC 21949-21971 provides the pedestrian rules, but does not define "unmarked crosswalk "


texts: Will a UK Police Information Notice appear on an enhanced DBS certificate?

texts: I have been handed a Police Information Notice. Now, I have done some research and found that it does come up on an Enhanced DBS check, but only if the chief superwhatnot decides that it is relevant. However i just spoke to the police and they told me that it would not appear on a Enhanced CRB/DBS. Is there anyone on here that could clarify whether this would be an issue? It's over someone/something so pathetic. I am so confused.


texts:
About six weeks ago I filed, as a pro-se litigant, a 1983 action in the district court of Arizona. When filing the complaint, the clerk told me she couldn't issue a summons because it related to events that occurred in pre-trial detention and needed to be "screened" first by a judge.

I have since found that both the Prison Litigation Reform Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act require such "screening orders". The Federal Tort Claims Act screening seems to only apply when the charge is a felony and the defendant is federal--neither is the case here. A few days ago, I found (binding) precedent, a little over one year old, that says screening under the PLRA only applies to persons incarcerated at the time their complaint is filed.

Because I was not incarcerated at the time I filed my complaint I feel like the Prison Litigation Reform Act was not a basis for requiring a screening order either. Are there any other statutes that require pre-screening of (ex)prisoner complaints prior to the issuance of a summons?


texts: Being convicted in one jurisdiction and serving the sentence in another

texts:
After William Boychuk, a Canadian, was convicted of murder in North Carolina, he was allowed to serve his life sentence in Canada.
Now the New Zealand mosque terrorist has been sentenced to life without parole (an unprecedented sentence according to the article linked below) and New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters says he wants him to serve his sentence in Australia since that's where he's from. The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said that would not be a normal practice, and NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern said "[T]here isn't a legal basis for it. It would be a very complex undertaking."
How widespread is such a practice? Is this a unique treaty between the U.S. and Canada, or something done everywhere except that it's unheard of in Australia and New Zealand, or something between those extremes?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/content/tvnz/onenews/story/2020/08/27/peters.html?fbclid=IwAR0aV7y1rNit1S5qv0w92EyL1H7P6H3eiaGWiiaAMzbnJBBh6rNA-dUPIJo


texts: Dual citizenship document verification/validation

texts:
I was born in country C1, moved abroad to study for master and work on country C2. Then got citizenship from country C3.
While on C2, I worked on company K1 using passport from country A1. Now I'm about to change job to company K2 and I would like to use my brand new passport from country C3, meaning the visa stamp will go on C3 passport and I guess C1 passport will receive stamp to cancel the visa. I'm still living on country C2.
All my documents, i.e. master degree certificate, refer to C1 passport. To receive the work visa I have to present many documents, i.e. master degree certificate. But these documents refer to the other passport and I have a feeling I should tie this things together.
Perhaps I should ask 1) Who is the authority who will tie these things together? Or is there a document that ties these things?


texts: Who is the legal owner of code in a bitbucket repo?

texts: Who is the owner of code uploaded from a personal account to a private Bitbucket repository and there is no license defined in the code, or there is only the name of the author in the header of the code? (based on that there is no any signed contract between the repository owner and the code owner)


texts: Can a US President give police a "kill order"?

texts:
Warning: spoilers for the TV show Designated Survivor ahead.

The American TV drama Designated Survivor is set in a hypothetical world where terrorists have successfully attacked the State of the Union address and killed nearly all of the senior members of the US government. Many early episodes have plot points centering around Constitutional issues and Presidential powers that Americans will remember from their school days (e.g. the ability of the President to federalize units of the National Guard). Based on those early episodes, it's clear the show is attempting to be accurate in its depiction of existing US law, and not just making stuff up wildly or in an alternate reality with different laws.

In S1E11 of the show, police officers have surrounded a building where they believe a terrorist is hiding. They are on US soil, and believe that the occupant of the building is the person who attempted to assassinate the president several hours earlier. It is unclear if they know the nationality/citizenship status of the terrorist.

The (Acting) President of the United States has an open line of communication to the on-scene police commander from a bunker in the White House. Other characters explain that standard procedure is for police to attempt to take the alleged terrorist into custody so that criminal charges may be brought, and for police to not fire their weapons unless attacked. The President gives a preemptive order for police to kill the suspect even if a non-lethal option is available. His advisors object, but he overrules them, explicitly commanding them to "shoot to kill."

The show set things up to feel sort of like a Commander-in-Chief giving orders to a military unit in a war zone overseas, but ultimately, the scenario was a domestic police operation. So, is this something a President can actually do, from a legal standpoint? Or did the show decide to ignore reality in the service of the plot this time?


texts: Can a child has different last name from both their father and mother?

texts: So in US, you can change your last name as you could with your first name. So imagine as a father, you changed your last name from the one your family gives to you. Can you choose your child to use your family's last name not your changed last name?


texts: What does "rejection of an arbitration provision mean"?

texts:
Chase Bank/JP Morgan Chase recently added a provision to their terms for cardholders about arbitration. So customers are receiving notices about this change, but at the bottom of the notice, it says you may reject this agreement to arbitrate if you notify them before XX/XX/XXXX day.

Does that literally mean customers can just say "no" and that provision won't apply to them? Are they required to give that option do to legally binding existing cardholder agreements?