texts: can anyone interpret the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act(CFAA) to include everyday mistakes in good faith?

texts:
For example can the statement "Intentionally access without authorization/exceed authorization" be interpreted to mean something like a strict liability for accidental mistakes?

Like can a plantiff/prosecutor say something like "ya i know you made an accidental mistake in good faith but because this law is stated in just this way , I can also interpret this law as only needing intent to actually want to just access this particular thing even though you didn't know you don't have access or you believed you have proper access from authority. So i'm holding you strictly liable for an accidental mistake that everyday people can make." Can people interpret this law whichever way they like?? If no or yes then why? I'm not a law student /lawyer so trying to understand this law  as a typical person.


texts: Does any host provider currently comply with GDPR?

texts:
According to Rec.81; Art.28(1)-(3) of the GDPR regulation,

"The carrying-out of processing by a processor should be governed by a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, binding the processor to the controller"

A controller that wishes to appoint a processor must only use processors that guarantee compliance with the GDPR. The controller must appoint the processor in the form of a binding written agreement, which states that the processor must:

only act on the controller's documented instructions;
impose    confidentiality obligations on all personnel who process
the relevant    data;
must ensure the security of the personal data that it processes;
abide by the rules regarding appointment of sub-processors;
implement measures to assist the controller in complying with the
rights of data subjects;
assist the controller in obtaining approval from DPAs where required;
at the controller's election, either return or destroy the personal
data at the end of the relationship (except as required by EU or
Member State law);
and provide the controller with all information necessary to
demonstrate compliance with the GDPR.

I've checked every major host provider there is and none offers such guarantees.

So question is, how do I as a controller comply with GDPR if there's no host provider (aka processor) who'll sign a contract addressing all 8 points required by the GDPR?

The regulation clearly states that controller is responsible for this.


texts: Is the term "race" defined by Public Law enacted by Congress of the United States

texts:
At United States Census Bureau - About Race the language appears

  What is Race?

  The data on race were derived from answers to the question on race
  that was asked of individuals in the United States. The Census Bureau
  collects racial data in accordance with guidelines provided by the
  U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based
  on self-identification.

  The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally
  reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not
  an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or
  genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the
  race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups.
  People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their
  racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White.” People who
  identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any
  race.

  OMB requires five minimum categories: White, Black or African
  American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian
  or Other Pacific Islander.

  Reasons for Collecting Information on Race

  Information on race is required for many Federal programs and is
  critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights.
  States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles.
  Race data also are used to promote equal employment opportunities and
  to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks.

  Race and Ethnicity Research

  The Census Bureau has a long history of conducting research to improve
  questions and data on race and ethnicity. Since the 1970s, the Census
  Bureau has conducted content tests to research and improve the design
  and function of different questions, including questions on race and
  ethnicity.

  For the latest information on Race and Ethnicity Research visit:

  Research to Improve Data on Race and Ethnicity Learn more about
  Census Bureau's ongoing history of conducting research to improve
  questions and data on race and ethnicity.

Since the term race is supposedly based on "social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically" and "race" is not defined within the Census Bureau documents we can utilize the American Anthropological Association Statement on Race for guidance as to exactly what the construct of "race" is

  How people have been accepted and treated within the context of a
  given society or culture has a direct impact on how they perform in
  that society. The "racial" worldview was invented to assign some
  groups to perpetual low status, while others were permitted access to
  privilege, power, and wealth. The tragedy in the United States has
  been that the policies and practices stemming from this worldview
  succeeded all too well in constructing unequal populations among
  Europeans, Native Americans, and peoples of African descent. Given
  what we know about the capacity of normal humans to achieve and
  function within any culture, we conclude that present-day inequalities
  between so-called "racial" groups are not consequences of their
  biological inheritance but products of historical and contemporary
  social, economic, educational, and political circumstances.

However, this does not answer the question as to precisely what "race" is in law. Nor is "race" defined in Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, although the subject matter is purportedly "Race".

Is the term "race" defined in any Public Law enacted by the Congress of the United States?


texts: How do people hire only specific demographics but not face discrimination suits?

texts: I like the idea that businesses can specifically hire homeless people who need it, but what I'm not quite sure of is how businesses are able to do that on an arbitrary basis, because as far as I know they are supposed to make the position publicly available and conduct interviews for any applicants.


texts: Can I demand a contract payment for work that has been created if the final payment for the work is due based on client approval

texts:
I'm just going to start off by saying I don't need a recommendation on writing a better contract. I am fully aware of my contract's strengths and weaknesses.

However, I would like to know if I can demand payment from a toxic client if the entire project is done and they are asking for too many changes with terrible communication throughout the project.

The contract states " If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction our work is taking, you’ll pay us in full for everything we’ve produced until that point and cancel this contract."

Now we believe they will try to cancel the contract even if we implement the vast array of changes they demanded that were not provided in a timely manor.

The contract payment schedule states we will receive the final payment of 55% (the remaining balance has been paid, although our work hours have far outweighed their payment.) of total cost or the remaining payment upon the completion of the project.

Knowing this, would I be able to force them to pay for what we have developed (The entire project with the exception of the final changes they are asking is complete. One such change is one of the main assets that "doesn't look good" to them) under threat of legal action? Obviously I do not want to threaten legal action. But is there a route to get them to pay for our work even if they don't like one aspect of it and have said they will not pay unless it is 100% to their standards?

Also, is using the term "in a reasonable amount of time" in a contract able to be interpreted by us?

Once again I do not need a lecture on how bad my contract is, but would like to learn for improvements next time and if I can get the money my small business is owed.


texts: When to stop responding to repetitive pre-action letters?

texts:
Sorry if this is not the right place to ask this, please point me to anywhere better suited!

I've been receiving pre-action letters for a year from my ex-girlfriend's lawyers, saying they intend to issue PI or some other claim against me and listing the £200k of apparent damages I'll owe. I've had a solicitor and barrister respond to them, which has cost me around £50k so far.

My lawyers are keen to do things by the book, which coincidentally seems to mean charging me as much as they can get away with. They're keen to keep on responding, and commissioning 3rd party consultants to prepare parts of the case.

Now, my ex-girlfriend has more money than sense and for all I know could send letters until the limitation period elapses. I don't want to be spending £50k a year until that happens however. At what point do I overrule my lawyers and decide to call the other side's bluff and stop responding?


texts: Has the United States Supreme Court ever heard an appeal directly from a state court of first instance?

texts:
I was inspired to ask this question after noticing that Robinson v. California was an appeal from a state appellate court directly to the Supreme Court. Thus the Supreme Court “skipped over” the Supreme Court of California when granting this writ. I do not have access to the case history, but I assume the Supreme Court of California denied discretionary review.

Has there ever been an instance of the Supreme Court hearing an appeal directly from a state district court?


texts: Is evidence from a vigilante 'sting' operation accepted in UK courts?

texts:
This is a hypothetical question based on a trend seen on Facebook.

Sometimes vigilantes will set up a 'sting' operation. For example, they may pose online masquerading as a child to catch pedophiles.

Let us assume that the vigilantes entice someone to meet in person and they record on camera the identity of the person they have 'stung' and that the person they have recorded intended to commit a crime.

Given that there is no victim (e.g. the vigilantes aren't really vulnerable children), my question is would the vigilante's evidence be admissible in a UK court?


texts: Follow up on interpreting a paragrapgh from an MNDA in context to Ohio law

texts:
This is a follow up question from the following stack exchange question found below:

How to interpret this paragraph from an MNDA in context with Ohio law?

I would like the paragraph to convey that mediation needs to happen first before the injunction relief occurs. I wanted to check if my edits to the paragraph make that clear.

  The Parties agree that the disclosing Party will suffer irreparable injury if its Confidential Information is made public, released to a
  third party, or otherwise disclosed in breach of this Agreement and
  that the disclosing Party shall be entitled to obtain injunctive
  relief against a threatened breach or continuation of any such breach
  according to the procedure outline in section 13 below and, in the
  event of such breach, an award of actual and exemplary damages.

Section 13 is as follows:

  The interpretation and validity of this Agreement and the rights of the parties shall be governed by the laws of the State of
  Ohio. Any action brought to enforce this Agreement shall be brought in
  Ohio but only after first having gone through mediation at a location
  reasonably convenient to all parties in an attempt to efficiently
  resolve any disputes that might arise.

If this doesn't express mediation needs to occur first, is there better language I can use to convey this idea?

As a side note, MNDA stands for Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement.


texts: How can Nintendo cartoon Captain N use video game characters owned by different companies without those companies appearing in the show's copyright?

texts:
Captain N was a late 80s cartoon which uses characters and settings from several games that are playable on the Nintendo Entertainment System console. Some of these are Nintendo owned, but there is a significant amount not owned by Nintendo like Mega Man, Castlevania, Tetris, Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy that appear but the companies who own these games don't show up in the credits or even in the copyright section of the DVD i own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8jxeetnZ9U
As you can see from the link, the show claims that all of the elements in the show are owned by Nintendo/Nintendo of America despite that not being true.


texts: Does a notice posted to the outside of an apartment door count as appropriate notice in all cases?

texts:
Consider the situation in which a landlord seeks to give a tenant notice (e.g. past rent, apartment inspection or servicing).
Does taping / affixing the notice to the outside of the tenant's apartment door without confirming that the tenant has heard and acknowledged the presence of the notice count as delivering the notice?
If the tenant rarely leaves their apartment (e.g. due to a quarantine), it may be expected that they would not be likely to see the notice in time, especially if the notice is particularly time-sensitive (e.g. 24-hour warning of apartment entry).
Jurisdiction: State of California


texts: Insurance situation for unpaid babysitter

texts:
A friend of ours will be looking after our infant daughter for a few days. This will happen at her home with her family. She will do this without charge and we are also in no business relation to each other.

Which insurance would protect the child during this time? My home insurance, my friends insurance or neither? In case of neither are there insurances for such occasion and if yes what are they called?

I googled but couldn't any information about unpaid babysitter.


texts:
It occurred to me the other day that (in America) I could write book claiming that soda cures cancer, and there would be no legal consequence to that—free speech. But if I sold soda and claimed that it cured cancer, I'm pretty sure that would be illegal.

So my (very broad) question is: When does it become illegal to lie—or to make wildly unsubstantiated claims—in American jurisprudence? Is there a single philosophical distinction that cuts across the law, or are there just piecemeal exceptions to “free speech” for things like libel, false medical claims, incitement to violence, etc.?


texts:
As far as I know, Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs are illegal in the USA, because it's a non-edible object inside the chocolate egg.

If I were to open them, and send the chocolate and the toys in two parts of the same package, can I send them to the USA?


texts: legal to use screenshots/videos from games

texts:
I'd like to use screenshots from video games like Minecraft or Contraption Maker in presentations.  Is this legal?
My reasoning pro:

I've seen screenshots from other software all over the place and can't imagine an MS Word tutorial with screenshots (including logos or clippy) to be illegal.
In the case of these specific games, what is seen is to a large extend the result of my own creativity.
Contraption Maker has a function to export videos and upload them to YouTube.  There is nothing in the documentation of that feature that says that's only allowed in specific circumstances or the videos are licensed only for some purposes.

My reasoning against:

The amount of creativity that goes into the scene that is screen shot varies a lot from game to game.  I wouldn't expect a screenshot from an in-game video to be free to use.  It seems unlikely that there's a blanket rule that screenshots from software are the property of the one making the screenshot.
Even in Minecraft and Contraption Maker, the components of each scene were drawn by artists and those drawings are the property of the owners of Contraption Maker.

Edit:
I just found this: in the case of Minecraft, it seems to be legal, because it is explicitly allowed to "write and publish works inspired by Minecraft".  The question about the general situation remains. Also, I haven't been able to find anything about Contraption Maker.
Edited II:
I'm interested in answers regarding German law, but also US-American.


texts: Is it legal to keep or make a digital copy of a physical book I bought?

texts:
If we assume the book is copyrighted or a specific book that is not free of charge, it is commercial, can I make or download a digital copy of a book that I bought? I didn't buy the copyright and we can assume that it is copyrighted.

My geographic location is Sweden. The material in the book is not distributed to anybody else.


texts:
A company known as "Retailer" exclusively sold another company, known as "Manufacturer" products. However, "Retailer" decided to cut ties and decided not to sell "Manufacturer" products.

"Manufacturer" placed several ads in several newspapers that the "Manufacturer" had discontinued distributing goods to the "Retailer" and it was not current on its payments to "Manufacturer".

John Doe, owner of "Retailer", met with Jane Doe, owner of "Manufacturer", to discuss the ad. John found out that it was an accounting error and that there was nothing wrong with "retailer's" credit. During their meeting words were exchanged and in anger Jane slapped John before she left.

What viable tort actions might be brought based on the above case description including the parties involved.


texts: What is a "family group" as it pertains to quarantine orders?

texts:
New York currently has travel restrictions in place, which require individuals coming in from specific states to quarantine for 2 weeks. They use the definition of "quarantine" as defined by the New York Department of Health. When talking about where individuals can stay during quarantine, it says:

Separate quarters with separate bathroom facilities for each individual or family group. Access to a sink with soap and water, and paper towels is needed.

How is "family" defined in this situation? For example, if someone travels to New York to visit and stay with their parents, are they considered quarantined while staying at their parents' house? What if they are visiting their aunt, or brother, etc?
Basically, if each "family group" has their own quarters, does that mean you can only be sharing quarters with your immediate family (spouse and kids; people you normally live with full-time)? Or can you share quarters with anyone who is part of your actual family?


texts: Are there any restrictions on "Open Access" material?

texts:
A video on Wikipedia claims that Open Access articles come with "full reuse rights" (sections 0:04 and 5:38).

Are Open Access articles as open as public domain works?

Is the definition of the rights of Open Access articles equivalent to that of the Public Domain?

Would the implementation (e.g. manner of distribution) be a factor?


texts: Duty of care dilemma when reporting Web vulnerabilities to both Stakeholders and Web Service owner

texts:
Ok, I am going to ask this question with an Analogy.
A Locksmith is walking in the street and comes across a door. The door seems to be well secured to a normal user and is actually a door to safe deposit vault/ stock exchange etc. The locksmith notices something unusual the Locksmith has an account (but no safe deposit) himself in the bank. Concerned the locksmith waits and see unusual activity like people who don't look like bank employees loitering around the door. He also observes that the security is so bad that it might be deliberate ignorance.
Also, the Locksmith is a convicted (Ex CatBurglar) so him observing and reporting this can give the wrong signal to authorities.

Another analogy to this is an ex/reformed "Some Amateur Troll" observed "Some Country X Trolls" on a "Big Network" but can't point fingers and also cannot approach both cause he legally cannot say "Country X Trolls" activities benefit "Big Network" and "Big Network" might be simply naive or maliciously ignoring such activities for their own benefit.

How does he inform stakeholders legally?


texts: Hypothetical scenario: Crooked cops vs righteous bounty hunters

texts:
Let's say a court issues a arrest warrant for a police officer and private bounty hunters apprehend the officer. The police show up and demand the officer be released, start shooting etc. The bounty hunter has his own friends that join his side.
In this case, can private citizens legally fight police?


texts:
I am planning to build a mobile platform which I would use the UUID as the username, and a password of user’s choice. So that users would just need to type a chosen password to use my services.

Beyond that, my intention is just to store in my 3rd party cloud service provider the country where the user resides. Any other information like name , picture , etc , would be stored in the user’s device.

Do I need to be GDPR complicant for this ?


texts: What Constitutes a "Genuine Mistaken Belief" in Law?

texts: If the legal representative of a company suggests that their client had no knowledge that they had entered into a contract (even though it bears the signature of their MD) due to what they call a "Genuine Mistaken Belief" Is that a valid argument for a lawyer to make under English Law?


texts: Does California's Information Practices Act (IPA) of 1977 apply to individuals after death?

texts:
I'm in the midst of researching a person who was born in 1892 and died in 1969 in California. The subject has no living heirs.

I've requested documents from the California Department of Consumers Affairs regarding a license held by this individual when they were alive.

The state has returned many valuable documents but much of the useful info has been redacted. For example, the individuals employer names and the individuals work/home addresses have been redacted.

The state is citing California Civil Code sections 1798.1 and 1798.3 as to why the information may not be released.

I've read the code and it defined the protected individual as a "natural person" - but I'm unable to determine if a deceased person is still considered a natural person.

In short, is there any legal argument for requesting that the information, which is nearing 100 years old, should be released?


texts: GDPR Compliance: Do all Cookies require Opt-In?

texts:
Given a Web Site which uses cookies for the following:

User Preferences
Bookmarked Articles
Cookie Preferences

what explicit permissions would be required from the user?

Here I anticipate the cookies would be set from JavaScript, so no identification of the user would be required. I know that cookies are sent to the server.


texts: Possible legal steps for psychological damage caused by a company

texts:
A friend of mine studies at an American university in the UAE. Recently, he was literally escorted out of the campus building on the premise that it was winter break.
It is a common notion that the university remains closed during the winter break, but he is a full-time student and was on the campus for more than 24 hours. The university is heavily guarded and is always monitored by a Public Safety department which is actually run by a multinational security corporation (originally based in the US). The presence of my friend was already known and he has been a student for more than 3 years. He was working on a project, and is a kind of person who gets lost very easily in work. First night, he crashed in during the night because he lives in a far away city (in his case, Dubai) and continued working on his project the next day as well. The university is a very student-focused Liberal Arts university, and he was in no way ready for what was to happen.
While he was working in one of the labs which is usually 24x7 for student use, two security guards approached him and asked him to leave the campus immediately. The demeanor of the guards was very rough and they kicked out this student and asked him actually to leave the campus (entirely) at around midnight. Now, my friend is literally left devastated by this act which they carried out on him at midnight. He now hates his university and is scared of the Public Safety officers (who are supposed to protect him). He immediately wrote to them asking what the actual protocol was for some student who would come to campus during a break, but hasn't received a response since (almost ten days now).
Can he sue the company managing the Public Safety department (for the psychological damage he received)? He has witnesses, including me. On what grounds can he file a case?
EDIT: The university is a residential education-based university that means students live there 24x7 except during the break, and during that time only the housing is shut but all the other major facilities are accessible. So all the places my friend accessed were done so using his university issued RFID-based ID card. So far, the Public Safety department has not given any official reply to his question about what the actual protocol is. It seems that there was no such protocol to deal with such a case in the first place but the security officers on duty that night just did it on a whim.


texts: Is it legal for an apartment complex to have me sign a lease and never discuss the fact they do quarterly inspections?

texts:
So I just moved in to an apartment complex, I have historically always rented from private persons and they usually have been houses, but I was new to the Austin, TX area and needed to get my family established.

So we just signed a lease with them 3 weeks ago and to my surprise I get a notice about tomorrow we are doing quarterly inspections. I felt like I was in a movie about guards tossing the cells.

There was no discussion about this, during the signing of the lease and if they snuck it in the lease I would be surprised because I did read through the lease.

I do not feel comfortable about somebody coming to my home to do an "inspection". What is this all about as I am new to this state? Honestly, unless they got a warrant I don't want anybody walking in my home. What is a general rule of thumb here, since my understanding is my relationship begins and ends with this document called a lease. If its not in there, I don't have to oblige.

This is the response I got from management:

  The purpose of quarterly inspections is to show that we are
  maintaining standard upkeep of your home. It is industry standard so
  as to ensure (and to show record of) the proper condition, of your
  HVAC unit, smoke detectors, water heater, balcony and fire
  extinguisher. The inspection should take no longer than a couple of
  minutes. We upload and keep an electronic record that all units were
  inspected during each quarterly inspection. I have attached a
  preventative maintenance form so you can better understand what we are
  inspecting (this is the form we use during our inspections). I hope
  this sheds some light on this process.


texts: Is it illegal (or criminal) to break a contract?  For example when you agree to a websites Terms of Service, if you violate a term, are you breaking the law?


texts: Legal ramifications of signing someone's deed poll?

texts: I've been asked by a friend if I'll sign their deed poll as a witness. They're trans and are changing their name as part of their transition. I've known them for 10+ years. Are there any legal aspects I need to be aware of before I sign this? If I'm asked to prove that we've known each other for 10 years I'd have difficulty proving it (it's not like friendships come with contracts!), and I don't live locally so if I'm asked to present myself somewhere I probably won't be able to. I've read the advice on the deed poll office website but didn't see anything to be concerned about - we're both British nationals, so the stuff about possibly needing a solicitor present I don't think applies? Just want to be sure I'm not missing anything before I put pen to paper


texts: Can you avoid extra taxes by making your children the owners of your new business?

texts:
My father wants my brother and I to be the owners of his new business in my home city. The reason behind this is to avoid paying extra taxes, as my father already has many businesses in his name and the revenue from this new business would force him to pay 30% of his total income in taxes (instead of a lower amount unknown to me).

He told us that first we would  need to be registered as self-employed workers, then this business would be put in our name and every month each of us would have to send to a bank account (local to my home country) 95% of the revenue. My brother and I would each keep the remaining 5%.

I am basically clueless about the laws in this regard, while he is a lawyer. The main issue to me is that I don't live in my home country anymore and, for the time being, I have no intention to return.

So in this regard my intuition tells me that this is not a good idea. As I see it, best case scenario I would  have to declare (yearly I believe) the total revenue of this business in my home country plus my earnings from my current job abroad (as usual). I would most probably have to pay some taxes (while currently I end up receiving money from the state in the country I am working in), in both my home country and the country where I am currently living in due to this supposedly huge increase in income.
Worst case scenario, at some point we get caught trying to avoid taxes and suffer the consequences from my home country's legal system (unknown to me).

In case this information is relevant: My home country is Spain and I'm working in another EU country.

Is this a legal way to avoid extra taxes or is this a way for seeking legal trouble?

Thank you.

Edit to clarify:

My father's new business is not yet active nor registered (as per my knowledge).
His plan is to make my brother and I owners of the space where this business would take place, and then we would register and start this business without legally involving my father.


texts: In California, what happens if one spouse names a third party as their sole life insurance beneficiary?

texts:
Under California's community property law, each spouse can only control half of the couple's community property in his or her will. Does the same rule apply to life insurance benefits? Can one spouse name someone other than the surviving spouse as sole beneficiary, or is the surviving spouse entitled to one half of the proceeds?

What if the life insurance premiums were paid from the deceased spouse's separate property?


texts:
If a work or result is promised to be completed "in a few weeks", is there a legal definition of how long that can take the most?

My gut instincts would say less then two months, but that is just my personal notion.


texts:
If someone generates word frequency lists somehow. For example by analysing a web corpus or data from keyboards. Is this form of list of words and their frequencies copyrightable? For example if someone chose to publish this list online, can this be protected using copyright law?
Edit: A word-frequency list is list of words and the amount of times they have occured in a text.
Edit2: For those who are interested, the jursidiction is India, but although I won't mind general info around the world as it will be helpful to all.


texts: Given SCOTUS precedent, how do I legal counter specifically religious solicitation? (USA)

texts:
USA Supreme Court has ruled that politicians, religious groups, the Girl Scouts and others have a constitutional right to go door-to-door promoting their causes without first getting permission from local officials.

Banning door-to-door religious solicitation may violate rights of free speech, free exercise of religion and freedom of the press depending on the circumstances.

It is noted that some religious groups knock on doors occupied by tenants and not occupied by the landlord.

What then can a reasonable person, tenant or landlord do to protect their right to quiet enjoyment when religious solicitors selectively knock on the doors of private residences? Clearly, law favors and protects free exercise, so what are the possible solutions to peacefully counter the religious solicitors?

Given the fact that the solicitors do not visit every house and selectively choose which door to knock, is there any law, case law, municipal code, ordinance that applied in this situation to convey to solicitors to keep out based on non-uniform business practices?

Installing a gate/fence is not practical in this situation. Reporting to the police is not legally viable due to  Supreme Court precedent.


texts: When does one become a "founder" of a business? For example, would it be when work on the business starts or when the business is incorporated? Such events could be years apart.


texts: If it was just discovered that, 8 years ago, someone unknowingly gave medicine to another to cure an STD - that they weren't aware they had - is it still possible to press charges in the state of Illinois?


texts: Why is stealing from an employer a criminal act when stealing from an employee is a civil act?

texts:
Here is the full question with all the context and details:

In the majority of cases in the U.S. about theft at a workplace, why is the matter usually tried in a criminal court when the employer is stolen from, yet is tried in a civil court when the employee is stolen from?

For example, if a bank owner refuses to send the last paycheck to someone who has just quit or been fired, it has to be fought in civil court. If a bank employee sneaks extra money from the branch, it has to be fought in criminal court.
The following comments or something similar may be made, so I will address them before they are made:

The reality for both examples above is that most of the time, it is not fought in court at all, and the injustice is just allowed to pass.

I'm talking about which court it would be brought to, only considering all the times that the matter is actually brought to court, so this is an irrelevant point.

The answer is as plain as day. It's because "bill 9, section 9, article 6, subarticle 7, clause 45" says so, you can read the legal document at this reference.

I know it's because the laws say so, I'm asking why the laws say so. What is the legal history behind this imbalance, and why have things become the way they are today?


texts:
I'm reading a "public records exception" to my state's Freedom of Access Law.  One says:

Public records.  The term "public records" means any written, printed or graphic matter or any mechanical or electronic data compilation from which information can be obtained, directly or after translation into a form susceptible of visual or aural comprehension, that is in the possession or custody of an agency or public official of this State or any of its political subdivisions, or is in the possession or custody of an association, the membership of which is composed exclusively of one or more of any of these entities, and has been received or prepared for use in connection with the transaction of public or governmental business or contains information relating to the transaction of public or governmental business, except:

...

B. Records that would be within the scope of a privilege against discovery or       use as evidence recognized by the courts of this State in civil or criminal trials if the records or inspection thereof were sought in the course of a court proceeding;

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/1/title1sec402.html

Can somebody explain the full meaning of what they're saying is an exception in B and how that doesn't exclude just about any record you can imagine?


texts: Could I medically or surgically modify my own child?

texts:
Keep in mind this is a hypothetical scenario.

I was recently very surprised to find out that many males in the United States are circumcised shortly after birth. No one had ever told me (it's not a subject I've spoken at length with anyone about), and certainly no one asked my permission before the procedure was performed on me. And yet it happens all the time, probably still to this day.

So this got me thinking, what are the legal limits to which a parent can physically modify a child? Could they turn a girl into a boy, or vice versa (I assume hormone therapy would work best when started at an early age)? Could they give them elf ears or vampire fangs? Could they replace all their limbs with state-of-the-art prostheses in an effort to create a Baby Robocop? As far as I know, all of these things can be legally done to oneself, but children aren't old enough to consent, and there are definitely cases where things are done to them against their consent by parents, with the law supporting the parents.

Let's assume that any modification has no perceived detriment to the child (for instance, in the limb-chopping scenario, assume prosthesis are advanced enough to match the abilities of natural limbs). Also assume that the procedure is painless, performed by a certified medical professional, and does not impede the mental and physical development of the child.

Are there any laws that specifically prevent these sorts of modifications? Or are there more general parenting laws that apply?


texts:
Only a hypothetical question (series of questions), but I've heard that taking a bribe is illegal as of the moment the bribe is received. Since the source in question is far from a legal expert, I'm curious about how this actually works (in theory and in practice) if someone were to attempt to take a bribe for the express purpose of securing the evidence (so that the one offering the bribe can't deny it).

Now this is obviously making some assumptions about the nature of the bribe (it would be different if it were, say, a fancy watch versus a paid trip to a resort or an overly expensive dinner), so there are a few scenarios I'm curious about.

-If a physical object is offered (a watch, say) and accepted, could the bribe then be taken to the police immediately after without repercussions, or would even that be no good?

-If an event of some sort was offered, could the bribee attend while collecting video evidence? I assume this would be strongly discouraged as a form of vigilantism, but would it be illegal in theory? In practice?

-Straying father into the absurd, I'm not at all sure if undercover police are in the habit of offering bribes, but if you accepted such a bribe (say, again, a watch or other expensive physical object) then when would the truth come out? Would they arrest you on the spot or wait to see if you contacted authorities about it? I'm guessing it's pretty hard to run into this situation by accident, or that this isn't even something that happens (or that it happens much differently than I'm imagining).

I'm guessing that the entire reason why this sort of thing is so inadvisable is the obvious chance of misunderstandings, but I'm curious what the real-world results would be of these hollywood-esque scenarios.


texts: Mortgage company sent full name, SSN, DOB, and address over email

texts:
Just as I said in the title. My mortgage company sent me a document I need to sign via unencrypted email and unfortunately it was pre-filled with my full name, SSN, DOB, and home address. I'm very upset about this and will be shopping around for another company.

I was also wondering, is this even legal? If a malicious individual came across the document there's everything they need to steal my identity and email is not end-to-end encrypted.

Jurisdiction: Arizona, United States


texts: Using Google Maps tile layers: Violation to Google ToS?

texts:
I've recently bumped into this answer on SO:

https://stackoverflow.com/a/32391908/3854787

It shows a way to use the Google Maps tile layers using a direct - probably internal - API.
It is followed by some comments stating that this is a violation of Google's terms of service. I'll transcribe them here, in case they get deleted:

  Its maybe worth mentioning that the Terms of Use from Google forbid any means of tile access other than through the Google Maps API.

and

  developers.google.com/maps/terms check out section 10.4e.

Section 10.4e of the ToS states:

  No use of Content with a non-Google map. You must not use the Content in a Maps API Implementation that contains a non-Google map.

To me, this sounds more like: I can't use content available in the Google Maps API (such as geolocation, markers/labels for bussinesses and such) in another maps implementation (Such as, for example, OpenStreetMaps).

Am I wrong? If I'm right, is there any other clause preventing use of the tile layers in this way?


texts: Am I allowed to gift alcohol to an adult as a minor?

texts: I am thinking about gifting alcohol to my boss as a parting gift. Does any law in Canada prohibit me from doing so?


texts: In Australia, do laws prevent an employer stipulating the financial institution which your pay must be deposited into?

texts:
This rumour keeps coming up time and time again, (probably because I've worked in financial services where this may be more commonplace - I no longer do) but every now and then, I'll hear someone claim that it is unlawful for your employer to demand that your pay be deposited into an account held with a specific financial institution. There is no option for payment by cheque, but the account is provided free of account holding charges.

I've been told it may be related to third-line forcing, but I'm not sure this applies. Is there a legal basis for these claims?


texts: Why would binding someone abolish an exception to the rule that bargains bind?

texts:
I don't fathom the emboldening.

Who is he and him? The creditor or debtor?
Pls see title.

Paul Davies. JC Smith's The Law of Contract (2018 2 ed).  p 89.

        MWB has now been [appealed to] [decided by] the Supreme Court. Perhaps the most unsatisfactory
  outcome would be for the Supreme Court to seek to reconcile the two lines of case law. It
  is suggested that the Supreme Court has a clear choice to make: it can either depart from
  Foakes v Beer and endorse the ‘practical benefit’ approach in Williams v Roffey Bros, or it can
  uphold the principle in Foakes v Beer and overrule Williams v Roffey Bros. Overruling Foakes
  v Beer was recommended by the Law Revision Committee in 1937 but was not acted on by
  Parliament. Indeed, departing from Foakes v Beer might be thought to undermine the doctrine
  of consideration. But this is not necessarily so. It may be that a distinction could evolve
  where consideration is required for the formation of contracts, but not for their variation.68
  In any event, the essence of the doctrine of consideration would remain intact. A person
  who agrees to pay an increased price in order to induce another to fulfil his contractual duty,
  or to take a lesser sum in full satisfaction in order to induce his debtor to pay something, is
  making a bargain. He asks for something in return for his promise to pay more—or not to
  sue for the balance, as the case may be—and gets what he asks for. It might even be thought
  that to hold him bound, far from impairing the basic rule that bargains are binding, would
  be to abolish an exception to that rule. Lord Blackburn recognised this in Foakes v Beer but
  was dissuaded by his brethren from dissenting on that ground. However, the actual result in
  Foakes v Beer may be unaffected because there was probably no bargain and no intention to
  release any existing rights. And even in situations where there is a bargain, that would not
  always be enforceable, since the outcome would depend on whether the party surrendering
  his contractual rights did so under economic duress.69


texts: If a couple pre-drafted a *non binding letter* stating opinions on custody do you believe it would be admissible?

texts:
-I will get an attorney don't need to make the recommendation again

-I understand that prenups/postnups can't negotiate custody (best interests of child)

-But lets say a couple drafts a letter that makes clear that its not a contract, not binding, but is intended to be admissible as evidence* on the issue of custody and what is in the child's best interests. It would talk about our views of custody when our relationship was peaceful (and not pitted against each other). Things like our views of both of us being capable parents, personal belief that joint custody is in the best interests of child or if we can't work together that even split legal custody would be our preference, etc.

*****I'm curious whether you believe a family judge would allow such a letter to be admissible as evidence and whether that would play any baring on their decisions (lets assume that once the day came one of the parents were no longer in agreement with the letter). I realize that the best interests of the children is the standard, but would a judge be swayed by a prior written opinion on the best interests from the child's own parents?**

Would resigning the letter every ~5 years (and having multiple copies as evidence) be a big help or a little help?


texts: What happens when two parties in a contract do not have a language in common?

texts:
What happens in the case where the two parties in a contract do not have a language in common?

For example, the buyer of a house speaks English, and the seller is Afrikaans and doesn't speak English at all. They both need to know and understand what they're signing, so I imagine that there needs to be two contract translations?

If that's the case, how does either party know the translation is correct, especially since contracts are drawn up and interpreted very differently from other normal written stuff.

(The above example scenario is my own - I'm the English buyer in this case)


texts: I received a $170 ticket for a 6 month expired tag on my car in Sandy Springs. (Miscommunication in my family about my tag - realize in the end that it was my fault for not making sure my tag was up to date myself so no argument there.) The ticket says “no tag” instead of “expired tag”. Is this correct or say something? I also think they overcharged me according to Fulton County ticket charge schedule.


texts: What is the statute of limitations for a violation of the Computer Misuse Act of 1990's provision(s) on phishing?

texts:
I came across a story about a twenty-something year old male who setup a fake website in order to 'phish' for usernames and passwords for a popular game.

After acquiring the credentials he would then login in to these accounts and remove the in-game currency and transfer it over to his own account.

After a number of years he was finally found out after admitting to friends what he had done.

He was found guilty in court, even though the last time he did it was around 6 years ago.

I'm curious as to how this would play out in the UK. I believe the act would be covered under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, but i am un-sure if there would be a time limit for a trial under the Limitations Act 1980.

My question is how long would it take for this offence to 'expire' and no longer be punishable under UK law?

If I am misunderstanding the limitation act please let me know.


texts: If there are any fully valid/legally accepted digital/electronic signature techniques in the US

texts:
After reading this from 2016 "it remains to be seen" if in the US digital/electronic signatures will be acceptable in court as a valid alternative to "wet" signatures.

I'm wondering if this problem has since been resolved, and if there are any standards/protocols/requirements/regulations/techniques/methods for assuring a digital signature is valid in a court of law, for any possible type of document (some sites said things like "wills" must be signed with wet signatures, but maybe this has since changed).


texts: I'm creating an app, which country's law will be applied to it?

texts:
So, I'm creating an international app; all my team is from Mexico (including me, of course). Which country's law will be applied to it?
The app is physically hosted in the United States, but our "main market" will be of course Mexico.
I'm not a US resident and have no economic activity inside the US; in fact, I don't even have economic activity in Mexico since I'm 14 years old.


texts: Divorce settlement that prohibits residency in a state

texts: I heard a rumor about a divorce case where the husband offered the wife a 25% higher settlement if she would leave the state. She declined. But it got me wondering. Can a valid divorce settlement or other contract provide payment in exchange for not living in a particular state? If payment is made, and the paid party doesn't move out of the state, or moves back, does the paying party have a good case to get back the payment?


texts: Can I teach those careless kids a lesson and destroy their ball?

texts:
As we learned from the hypothetical In California, if a baseball lands in my yard, is it legally mine? I could face detinue for not returning the baseball upon request.

But what if:

I accidentally destroy the baseball, without knowledge whatsoever that it was on my property, by running over it with my lawnmower before its return is requested?
I intentionally destroy the baseball before its return is requested?

Is there a common law tort that clearly applies to either of these scenarios?


texts: Can I distribute the Google TTS Engine with offline data on my device?

texts:
My company would like to distribute devices containing preinstalled Google Text-to-Speech (TTS) engine, together with some downloaded offline voice data.

Can we do this without the need to acquire any additional licenses/permissions?

My findings in this matter are insufficient, but I'm going to present them here anyway, to avoid confusion:

Android TTS framework is a part of Android Open Source Project,
licensed under the terms of Apache 2.0 license, making it perfect for
free distribution
The framework allows multiple TTS engines,
including Google TTS, which comes as a part of the operating system
installed by devices' OEM.
As far, as I understand, the usage of
Google TTS is governed by Google Terms of Service, which does not say
much about preinstalling parts of otherwise available online Google
software or its data On my device
As a user, I can go to Settings and download any of the available Google languages for offline use.


texts:
It is an accident that nearly occurred. It is in UK; so cars go on the left.

I was standing at a junction, and there was busy traffic on my right. Occasionally, there are cars turning left, and I was looking for a gap to walk across. Then there is Taxi coming up on my right; it did not signal left, so I thought it was going straight. So I walk across, and the car turned left nearly hitting me. The driver was swearing at me after this near accident.

So my question is: if the driver did hit me, who is responsible for this accident?

Appreciate any suggestion.

Edit: I was not on a pedestrian passing, but in my town, people always go across like that. I think the taxi was driving at about 15 miles. I was also walking quickly and may not have allowed the driver to response. When I started to cross, the taxi is already ahead of me.

Supplement:
The junction


texts: Am I allowed to intermediately rent my rooms for 2 months?

texts:
I live in Germany and rented two rooms in a residential community ("WG") for several years. Recently, someone moved in who behaves very badly. He destroyed many things, smokes inside, always listens to loud music, has loud fights with his girlfriend very frequently and at all times of the day (and night), is very aggressive, etc. The landlord terminated his contract after the tenant destroyed the entrance door and the same day terminated his contract immediately ("Außerordentliche Kündigung") after he physically attacked me. But by then I had already terminated my contract. It ends at the 30th of June.

I found a different place to live. Now I want to rent my two rooms to someone else for the remaining two months so I don't have to pay double (for my old place and for my new place).

I can't really find a next tenant because the landlord wants to renovate the place after I moved out. There is a 3rd tenant but he too terminated his contract (ending at the same day as mine). However, people are potentially interested in living there for 2 months.

I asked him whether I am allowed to rent my rooms to someone else for those two months but he declined. He also does not want to let me stop paying rent earlier.

I read that you can rent your rooms to someone else because the landlord basically always has to allow it. But I'm not sure.

Is there a way for me to get what I want?


texts: Heathrow public wi-fi and Data Retention Regulations

texts:
My friend visited Heathrow airport and he used their public wifi. He said that he had to provide only his name and email and got access to the Internet. He had not validated his email to get access, I mean, there wasn't an email verification process.

But as far as I understand, there are some laws in Europe about public wifi. And that law says (I'm not sure, I found only Data Retention Regulations of 2009 related to this) that the provider of free wifi has some kind of responsibility for any illegal actions via wifi.

So I guess the provider of public wifi has to somehow map a wifi user to a real-world person for the case if a person has done some illegal. But it looks like the name and un-verified email is only data airport takes from the person

From:
Heathrow Terms and Conditions & Privacy Notice for Wi-Fi Services.

How does it actually work? Am I right that they still have to be able to connect their wifi user with a real person?


texts: Landlord won't make amenities available and repeatedly lied about when they would be ready

texts:
I live in a large apartment complex, aprox 300 units.

They advertise pictures of a pool and a gym on their website and they told us they would be available in 2 weeks.

After 9 months all 3 pools remain closed. Children Played in the parking lot all summer. We called the office probably 10 times over the last 9 months asking when the pools would be open and every time they said about "2 weeks"

After reading google reviews it's clear the amenities have been closed for over 2 years and the owners have no intention of opening them. Is there anything i can do? I feel lied to and there are hundreds of families that moved here with kids hoping they would be able to provide them a better life, everyone feels swindled. They still have the big picture of the pool advertised on their website it's the first thing you see on their web page.


texts: Will I need permission from the work owner of a 2D sketch to make it a 3D model?

texts:
This is the situation: I have a booklet that contains sketches (2D drawings) of human teeth. I would like to use them as reference materials to build 3D models (using blender) and publish the models on Sketchfab and a mobile App.

I'm not sure about it since I see people, for example, making car models and selling it on Sketchfab, for branded cars, like Mercedes or Corvette etc... Did they need permission to make this work from the original designers?

What are my legal responsibilities in this aspect? Is this considered a copyright infringement?

Thanks in advance for the advice.


texts: Android app cryptography does it fall under US Export laws?

texts:
Basically, I want to encrypt some strings in my app, strings like access tokens or passwords. I planned on using AES, and mainly saw a good library at https://github.com/tozny/java-aes-crypto. Note that this is used only for protection of sensitive data while the app's purpose is other. As I said, simply add a bit of extra security to saved tokens if a root-ed user gains access to the database which stores these values.

However, after reading a bit about cryptography it seems that there are some US Export laws to consider for apps published on Google Play and available to other countries outside US.

Does using AES library in the link above fall under the requirements of US Export laws or because it uses the integrated android libraries and not uses own cryptography library is fine? Or maybe using xor would be better?

Thank you.


texts: If someone's record has been expunged, can they legally say that they have not been arrested?

texts:
If someone applies for a job and the application asks whether they've ever been arrested, can they legally say on the application that they have not been arrested before?

Note: Case was dismissed with no finding of fact.


texts: A user has supplied personal information in an anonymous form. What is this information's status under GDPR?

texts:
I am implementing a user feedback function in an application for my employer. The feedback is anonymous, but users can enter any text in the form.

If a user includes personal information (e.g. their email) in the form, what is its status under the GDPR (and other similar regulations)? I am not actively cataloguing this information, but it can be used to easily identify a person.


texts:
Is it illegal to tape over the lens of a speed camera thus preventing it from working?
One would assume that this is the case but if you apply the tape in such a way that it does no damage I can't think of any law that one could be prosecuted under.


texts: Can a software company deactivate my licensed software remotely?

texts:
We purchased a wordpress plugin with a perpetual license. The software plugin constantly phones home to check the license is used on the domain it was purchased for use on. However, if the our wordpress administration panel, where the plugin is installed, is accessed from the IP address of the site and not the domain, the license is deactivated, because the plugin phones home from the IP address and not the domain. As a result,  we need to reactivate the license.
Do we not own the software?
Does the concept of "quiet enjoyment" apply here?
What about the concept of "hidden defects"? The fact that every time, for whatever reason, our site is accessed from its' IP address and not the domain, it triggers a revocation of the license. Moreover, this time it caused damage to our business by both disabling the software/plugin and as a result the website, and when it was reactivated the database was corrupted and we lost all data between the deactivation and reactivation and ever since until it was fixed, about a week.
This is the license.


texts:
I notice that in the United States it seems like the accused rarely plead guilty in the case of a serious crime, even if the evidence is overwhelming. Not infrequently I will see cases in which the defense makes almost completely absurd arguments which are obviously futile. What is the point of this?

Are judges deliberately encouraging this behavior to increase business for legal professionals?


texts: Are contracts legally bound when acceptance is mailed, or only once received?

texts:
Kumaran develops novel lampshades. In January 2016, he developed a new lampshade.

On 1 May 2016, he emailed Bobby and Chew, both wholesalers, to whom he had previously sold lampshades. In his email, he asked each whether they would be interested in becoming the sole distributor of his new lampshade.

On 5 May 2016, Bobby and Chew both emailed Kumaran independently, each stating that he was interested in becoming sole distributor for the lampshade and requested further information.

On 7 May 2016, Kumaran emailed Bobby: “I offer you the post of sole distributor of the lampshade at a basic 10% commission. If I hear nothing from you by 14 May 2016, I will assume that this is acceptable to you.”

Bobby immediately posted a letter, by registered mail, to Kumaran’s home in which he accepted Kumaran’s offer. The letter did not arrive until 16 May 2016.

In the meantime, Chew, having heard nothing further from Kumaran, posted a letter to Kumaran in which he offered to become Kumaran’s sole distributor for a 20% commission. Kumaran received Chew’s letter on 15 May 2016. Kumaran immediately telephoned Bobby and told him that the post of sole distributor was no longer available to him.

Bobby insists that there is a binding contract to appoint him as sole distributor.  Is Bobby correct?


texts: Can you patent something that is an implementation of another patent?

texts:
In short, lets say I made a chair. A fully implemented chair with X, Y, Z features. I have a working prototype and details on how each part of the chair works, and what the features can do.

However, there is a broader patent that seems to have already been written out, but none of the implementation is used. The idea is very broad, and solves the same thing, and can be applied to the same thing, and even looks similar to yours with slight variation according to the diagrams. But the use of wording, such as "in this embodiment of the invention" suggests that there has been no implementation of algorithms. To continue the analogy, they say what the chair can do/look like, but don't say how it is done. Vaguely, it would be worded like this: "One embodiment of our invention can do X. Another embodiment can do Y." Their patent is already granted, and has been recently granted in 2015.

Overall, I feel the patent, while basically has the same concept, accomplishes the same goals, and even highlights some of our features, doesn't go into any of the details, and what details they do give make it significantly different. But with this language, they say our invention "COULD" be my invention.

Can my work be patented, in light of this broader, granted patent?


texts: Does the U.S. Fifth Amendment prevent one from being tried again for the same crime?

texts:
I have a question about the Fifth Amendment.
Imagine I committed a crime but I was acquitted at trial. After some time, some new evidence came up showing that I did do it. Does the Fifth Amendment say that I can't be charged for it again, even if there is new evidence?


texts: In Britain, can the "address" part of a "printer's imprint" consist only of their email address?

texts:
In Britain it is obligatory [*] for printed publications of many kinds to include the printer's name and address. Can the address be the printer's email address, or does it have to be their street address?
Notes
* Printer's Imprint Act 1961; Newspapers, Printers, and Reading Rooms Repeal Act 1869.


texts: Can non-US citizens challenge US border entry refusal?

texts:
Reading this article where an Australian citizen was refused entry at the US border because the officer considered she was about to undertake "paid employment" when in fact under the visa waiver programme she was allowed to do lectures and receive honorariums at universities made me think of what one could possibly do in that situation.

So, if US border officer does something that is contrary to the publicly available visa or border entry rules, can one, for example, appeal immediately to their supervisor so that the matter is resolved promptly? If this cannot be done or does not help, can the traveler later file a complaint or even challenge the Department of Homeland Security in court to recover the losses (e.g. missed flights/accommodation)?


texts: Breaking text message marketing "promise"

texts:
A business offers a signup on their website for a text club that will send recipients deals for the business. The signup promises "We'll only text you when there's a deal." But the texts from the business are never deals.
The business seems to be lying, but is this actually a legal problem for the business? Is the answer different if some of the texts are deals but some are not? Does the quantity of messages matter?


texts: Can a university in EU refuse to grant me a degree after I completed studies?

texts:
I have completed a 120 ECTS Master program in a research university in the Netherlands. However, to get a diploma, I need to make a separate application. I did not apply for the diploma in time before my enrollment ended. The university has a rule that I must be enrolled to apply for the diploma, which means I have to pay for at least one more month of enrollment to make the application.

How legal is this rule? Is it regulated by EU law or Dutch law or is it an arbitrary rule of this university? What laws regulate issuing of diplomas/degree certificates in EU in general?

Also, if I can't get a diploma, how can I at least get some verification of my earned ECTS-credits?


texts: File host that uploads illegal files to other file hosts

texts:
Imagine two file hosting websites. Perhaps Dropbox and Google Drive.

Now imagine a third file hosting service. However, what it does is grab your file, split it in two chunks, encrypt both of them, and upload one to Dropbox and another to Google Drive (then it gives both download links to the user).

Even if the service detects that the files are illegal, it is not storing them itself, but rather uploading them to other hosts.

Assuming that people use such service to upload illegal content, would such service be technically illegal?

What if the service keeps a list of all download links for anyone to download from?

Mostly curious about Canadian and US jurisdiction.


texts: Can a refugee use the Refugee Convention to defend against a charge of illegal entry?

texts:
Following up on Is criminal prosecution of asylum seekers who entered the US illegally a violation of the Refugee Convention?:
Suppose someone were prosecuted for illegal entry, having admittedly crossed the border in violation of 8 USC 1325(a)(1), either with a pending asylum application, or after having been granted asylum.  Could the accused use the fact that the US has ratified the 1967 protocol in defense, despite the fact that the protocol's protection against penalties for illegal entry is not explicit in US law?
Note that there is explicit protection against prosecution for document fraud, seemingly motivated by the US ratification of the protocol, at 8 CFR 270.2(j):

(j) Declination to file charges for document fraud committed by refugees at the time of entry.
The Service shall not issue a Notice of Intent to Fine for acts of document fraud committed by an alien pursuant to direct departure from a country in which the alien has a well-founded fear of persecution or from which there is a significant danger that the alien would be returned to a country in which the alien would have a well-founded fear of persecution, provided that the alien has presented himself or herself without delay to an INS officer and shown good cause for his or her illegal entry or presence. Other acts of document fraud committed by such an alien may result in the issuance of a Notice of Intent to Fine and the imposition of civil money penalties.

This relates to 8 USC 1324c, Penalties for document fraud.  A similar provision related to 8 USC 1325(a) does not seem to exist.


texts: How Are LLC Liabilities Prioritized? e.g. Are Bank Loans Paid Before Legal Settlements?

texts:
Consider an LLC that owns a rental home worth $700,000 and has bank debt of $500,000. A renter slips, falls, sues, and wins a $300,000 settlement. Is the bank debt senior to the lawsuit, leaving the lawsuit $100,000 short? LLC members are wiped out, but with the limited liability of an LLC the story ends there?
What if the $500,000 loan is owed to one of the LLC members? Does that change anything, assuming the member has a fully documented and separate loan agreement with the LLC?


texts: Can a UK retailer refuse full settlement of debt by a third party?

texts:
A person who is hospitalised and unconscious receives an outstanding invoice (of small value, say less than £50) from a UK postal retailer.

A friend picks up the invoice, calls the retailer, explains the situation, and offers to settle the invoice on the spot and in full.

On what grounds, if any, can the retailer refuse the payment?
Are there any circumstances in which refusal of an offer of full payment by a third party constitutes a waiver of all or part of the debt?


texts: Could the 14th amendment, section 3, keep Trump from holding office for a second term?

texts:
It seems widely agreed upon that even if a President breaks a law, he can only be removed from office through the impeachment process.
However, could an incumbent president who wins a second term be kept from being seated due to the 14th amendment (section 3)? It reads (emphasis mine):

Section. 3. 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.

Apologies because this is a multi-part, not-straightforward question:

Does the above bolded part correspond to breaking any specific laws? That is, how would one show that a person engaged in insurrection or rebellion, or given comfort to enemies?
If this could be demonstrated by finding someone guilty of a particular law, in theory couldn't someone  bring federal charges against Trump for doing so? (assuming one of his many bad faith acts like cooperating with Russian election interference, or tweeting classified information appeared to be breaking said law).
Couldn't this happen even if a Republican controlled senate decided not to remove him from office after being impeached? That is, even if it wouldn't cause him to be removed from office, couldn't he, separate from impeachment, be convicted of a crime while still holding office?
If he was found convicted of a crime which fit the above bolded passage (and didn't engage in some shenanigans like pardoning himself), who would keep him from taking office? (i.e. enforce the law).

I apologize if I'm grossly misinterpreting things here. My background knowledge is just from Wikipedia and constitution.findlaw.com, and I couldn't find any articles dealing with Trump and the 14th amendment, section 3 (all results were about him trying to unilaterally change citizenship laws, so for a different section).


texts: Can a free website have a terms of service?

texts:
I co-own a free website that recently underwent a spam attack. I have considered a terms of service to keep people from abusing the website. However, upon reading sites that inform me how to create one, I noticed a lot of them have to do with money.
Since the website is free, and has no current plans to make money, I do not want the site or any legal things to deal with money. The website also has no relation to any company.
Is there a way to tell people that they are not allowed to use the site if they do not follow the rules, and what can I do if they do not follow these?


texts: Who can claim ownership of pirated goods?

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I recently got into a discussion about copyright and ownership. The person was arguing that when you illegally copy an item, then the copy is owned by the original author. As such he argues that they can claim it to be theft in addition to copyright infringement.

That got me to thinking about pirated physical goods. If a factory produces an identical product such as an iPhone, selling it as such and pay no royalties to Apple. Can Apple then claim ownership of the counterfeits?

And if load a harddrive with copyrighted material, can the copyright holders claim that they own the harddrive?

This is a generic question, so I'm curious to hear what the laws are around the world.


texts: Is it legal to buy a vulnerability without using it against users?

texts: Is it legal in the United States to buy a vulnerability in a well-known software but without using it in the wrong way? like exploiting it against users.


texts: Can a landlord break lease for city code enforcement renovations in CA?

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I'm a landlord with a duplex in CA. I live in one unit, have a tenant in the other with a 1 year rental agreement (not sure if that technically makes it a lease, but it is entitled 'rental agreement')

The tenant was solvable and looked agreeable and reasonable, but has been a pain since moving in, complaining about the smallest things.

We had a verbal agreement and plan with deadline proposed by the tenant for fixing one issue, yet before that deadline the tenant filed a complaint with the city without saying anything.

Now City code enforcement inspector is paying me a visit. The place is probably up to code from the 1990's, but I expect there might be (hopefully minor) renovations.

Seeing how much of a pain the tenant has been so far, I can expect the tenant might also cause me trouble for inconveniencing during renovations. Especially the tenant has always insisted to be present for the original attempts to fix the problem, but has an odd schedule and very different working hours than mine which has made it difficult.

If renovations could inconvenience the tenant, or even shut down the place for a few days, what are my and the tenant's rights?

Can I break the agreement if I am forced into heavy renovations by the city? Can the tenant claim damages?

Is there exceptions for breaking such rental agreement, like for example if I were to move into the unit? (I currently live in the attached unit)

In the rental agreement, I can only find a provision for termination of the agreement in case the place is partially or completely destroyed due to situation out of my control. Would city imposed renovations fit under this provision?

I have a land use consultant, and I'm eventually looking into hiring an attorney, but I thought I'd ask here first.


texts: What are the differences and similarities between copyright and licensing?

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Creative Commons licenses, for example, and copyright are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it is common practice to use the © symbol on a book's copyright page when using a CC license.

Thus, what is the difference between a copyright and license, and between copyright infringement and violation of the terms of a license?

cf. the § "IP as Contract" of Stephen Kinsella's CC BY-licensed work Against Intellectual Property, in which he shows, inter alia, that licenses are not necessarily mutually binding contracts


texts: Is "mobbing" recognized by British and American legislations as a form of harassment in the workplace?

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From Wikipedia:

British anti-bully researchers Andrea Adams and Tim Field have used the expression "workplace bullying" instead of what Leymann called "mobbing" in a workplace context. They identify mobbing as a particular type of bullying that is not as apparent as most, defining it as "an emotional assault.

It begins when an individual becomes the target of disrespectful and harmful behavior. Through innuendo, rumors, and public discrediting, a hostile environment is created in which one individual gathers others to willingly, or unwillingly, participate in continuous malevolent actions to force a person out of the workplace."

Mobbing - USA:

But this is a hostile working environment!” And so it is, but it isn’t necessarily against the law. To management, it is “progressive discipline”: every act of the employee that could possibly be treated as malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance is documented and treated as cumulative. To the employee, it is unfair, demoralizing and counterproductive, but except for “hostile working environment,” employees have not had a single word like “discrimination” to express the concept. Now several writers have put a name on the concept, and have called it “mobbing.”

This specific form of harassment identified in Europe as "mobbing", is it the same in the UK and the US?
Edit: there is a hint at "mobbing" in an answer to This question on The Workplace


texts: Is it legal to issue private road notices on public estates in the UK

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This morning I parked my car around the corner in a new housing estate and walked to work. When I got back to my car, I found this stuck on the windshield...

The housing estate is completely new and openly accessible to its residents and their visitors. There are no explicit signs illustrating that the estate is private, and unless I'm wrong, non-private roads and pavements belong to the local council?
What I would like to know is:

What is the likeliness of roads supporting a new build development being private?
How do I find out who actually owns the roads and pavements?
Would leasehold vs. freehold land have an impact?
Is this notice enforceable by law?

As per Geoff Atkin's comment, this is in Liverpool, England.


texts:
I am a Slovak EU citizen. A bunch of my friends and I are planning to go on a trip to the UK for 2 months when we are 15. Our parents are fine with it, but are concerned about whether or not this is legal.

How does EU-wide travelling work for persons who aren't yet 18? We'll all have passports and Slovak/EU IDs. Do we absolutely need to travel with an adult who will be legally responsible for us, or is it enough to have some sort of evidence/legal agreement that our parents let us?


texts: I was banned from a roller rink for something I didn’t say

texts: I was accused of using profanity to an employee at a roller rink when I never called her names. The owners daughter told me “You’re banned forever!” Can I still show up if she’s not the owner?


texts: Is it even possible to use the Google Maps API without violating their terms of use?

texts:
I went to the Google Maps API terms of use page and scrolled down and found section at 10.5f, which read:

  No incorporating Google software into other software.
  You will not incorporate any software provided as part
  of the Service into other software.

If taken literally, and "other software" is the developers application, it appears as though one could be in violation just by using the Google Maps API service in any application, full stop.  Does this mean everybody using the Google Maps API is in violation of the terms of use?


texts: Can someone be involuntarily committed without having prior knowledge?

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Can someone be taken into custody for a mental health evaluation and possible involuntary commitment without any notification before someone actually shows up at their door to take them to a hospital? I ask because of a discussion related to Red Flag laws, and a parallel was drawn between these laws and involuntary commitment. One point brought up was that, with involuntary commitment, a person is aware that a process is occurring prior to them being taken into custody, and I'm not convinced that's true.

A side-question (if appropriate) is if, at the time a person is taken into custody, can police confiscate someone's weapons before the initial evaluation has been completed?

I'm aware that laws in each state are quite diverse, I'm interested mainly if there exists a state in the U.S. where the answer to both is "yes," but if that's too broad I don't mind restricting this question solely to the state of North Carolina.


texts: If Barefoot v. Jennings is upheld by CA Supreme Court, what recourse would disinherited child have against undue influence by unscrupulous caretaker?

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Background

My friend (plaintiff) has an open case against her mother's unscrupulous caretaker (defendant). Plaintiff is claiming that the defendant used 'undue influence' against plaintiff's mother, manipulating her to change her will/trust so as to (1) disinherit the plaintiff completely and (2) add the defendant as a beneficiary.

Plaintiff's mother is now deceased.

Status

The judge seemed somewhat sympathetic to the plaintiff's case. It's by no means a slam-dunk, however. A settlement was the most likely outcome.

But in yesterday's routine hearing, the judge effectively put the case on hold, pending outcome of another case (Barefoot v. Jennings) which is currently in the hands the California Supreme Court. The judge indicated that:

(1) If Barefoot is upheld by the California Supreme Court, a beneficiary who was disinherited completely would have no standing to contest the will/trust on the basis of fraud or undue influence. The case would be dismissed.

(2) If Barefoot is overturned by the California Supreme Court, the case can proceed.

Questions

Since neither attorney is familiar with the Barefoot case, and since the judge recommended that both sides, "do their own research," I'm looking for some answers on my own. In particular:

If Barefoot is upheld, does my friend have any recourse? I've researched it online but am encountering some conflicting conclusions.

One line of thought is that the victim who is disinherited has no standing to seek justice through the court system, so long as said victim was disinherited completely.

The other line of thought, which is proposed here, is that the victim can still sue, but the suit must be brought in civil court rather than probate court.

Any thoughts on which view is correct? Is there another legal alternative that is available to us if Barefoot is upheld?


texts: Realtor broke contract without notifying

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I have been in the process of buying a house for the last months and my realtor had been acting strange as she kept arguing for the Seller.

Now First off I live in PA so Dual Agency is allowed, however we have an explicit contract that says if Dual Agency were to occur that her employer would appoint a separate Realtor to represent the buyer. This did not occur

Now when signing the final loan paper work, previous paper work did not have realtors signatures in them at time of signing, I see that mine is listed for both buyer and seller. It also turns out that the initial estimates given were dramatically off for closing costs and monthly payments provided by the realtor with even the property taxes being incorrect.

I intend to close on the house as I've already signed all the loan paper work, but is there anything that can be done about a Realtor that breaks contract? Also second question would it be better to seek a personal or Real estate attorney in such situations as this?


texts: Depicting real places, public organisation names, and generic industries in an inaccurate manner in fiction

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Could it be a case for libel if a fictional story has reference to the following…

Places and countries (and some details, like description of locations, which may not be accurate)
Reference to law enforcement/military organisation (and some details about their organisational structure which may not be accurate, but are not necessarily depicting them in bad light)
Not naming any specific company or brand name, but rather depicting an entire industry in bad light (For eg: making claims that the insurance industry is in general prone to misrepresentation of facts while pitching their products)


texts: Are all nonprofits tax exempt or can there be charitable + tax-paying nonprofits?

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United States/NY state here, if it makes a difference.
My understanding is that there is a difference between a nonprofit corporation and its tax status. As I understand it, I can form a charitable nonprofit, but it will take several years (I believe 3) before I can apply to have that nonprofit recognized as a 501(c)(3) ("tax exempt") charitable nonprofit.
My understanding is, in the meantime (for the first few years), I can only operate the nonprofit as charitable and tax-paying, meaning we pay federal and state taxes.
My question: is my understanding correct, or are all non-profits tax exempt? If so, then what classification (other than c3) would my nonprofit have for the first few years?


texts: Does the lecherous millionaire violate any laws?

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The lecherous millionaire is a hypothetical character who offers to pay for a woman's sick child's medical treatment in return for sexual favours. It's meant as a philosophy thought experiment to illustrate the concept of coercion.

I'm not thinking in terms of philosophy however, but rather about law. Assume that the lecherous millionaire is sincere: if the woman says yes he will keep his word to pay the medical bills, while if the woman declines he'll let her go without further comment. Does the lecherous millionaire violate any laws by making this offer? If the woman accepts, can she later claim rape? What about lesser charges like sexual harassment?

My guess is it's not rape - if the woman doesn't want sex, she can walk away - but I'm not sure about sexual harassment.

If the country matters, assume it is in the US (however I'm interested in all countries, and especially so if this situation has happened before).


texts:
If a bank happens to be robbed just after I withdraw money from my account, and the robbers make me hand over my money to them, am I entitled to refund from the bank?
I know it may depend on the country, but you can tailor your answer to how it applies in a country you have knowledge about.


texts: My two brothers were appointed co-executors of my Moms will. Probate has been done for months now. We all 3 inherited her house in equal shares, two of us live there. I am being told because they were executors that they can decide to sell, without my consent as they are still in charge, due to being executors. Is this true? I was under the impression that when probate was settled and all the affairs of the deceased person had been settled, that the duty and/or authority of an executor is done.


texts: How much do I have to pay a licensed contractor bill if terms were not discussed before work was completed

texts:
I called a licensed contractor in Maryland to set up an appointment for an estimate. The next day the contractor came and determined the problem. The contract said could be fixed immediately.

I agreed and the contractor fixed the problem after 4 hours. Price was never discussed and no written contract or estimate was executed.

From a legal perspective, how much if any amount, do I need to pay?

This is a common situation but I could not find an answer searching the internet.


texts: is it allowed to make tutorials out of copyrighted material?

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I have been reading a lot of books about the IT world in general. I learned from those books.
Now I wish to create some tutorials which will be available in public in form of a website.
Suppose I intend to copy some sentences (from books or copyrighted material that does not allow copying neither a part), what if I copy them, but rephrase them in a different way? (the way I understood better for example, or add some more examples for that topic)
Is that allowed, to rephrase a coprighted part of text so I can use it in public domain.


texts: If someone orders a pizza in the US and doesn't pay for it, could they be arrested?

texts: If you were to order a pizza in the US and didn't pay for it afterwards, could you be arrested?


texts: How to report Airbnb income in tax return?

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We live in California, US.

We lived in an apartment in a very bad school district. We only realized that this January when we had to register kindergarten for our son, and we had to move. However, at that time we still had 3 months in our contract, and the agent wanted us to pay 2 month-rent penalty for breaking the lease (although it was never written anywhere in the contract).

We still rent a new apartment. To avoid paying penalty, instead of returning the previous apartment, we put it on Airbnb. That means we rented two apartments at the same time. What we earned from Airbnb is less than what we paid for the agent for the old apartment, let alone the bills for it.

My question:

Do I need to declare this income when filing my 2018 tax return? considering that I was actually losing money.

If the answer is yes:

How do I also declare the rent I paid to the agent, to show that I actually didn't earn anything.
What tax form do I need? Airbnb issues W-9 form for US person, W-BECI for non-US person with TIN, and W-8BEN for non-US person without TIN.

I'm not a US person. I have lived in the US for more than 3 years with a working visa, so I'm a resident for tax purpose (I also have EAD as my green card application is pending). I submitted a W-9 form to my employer so they can withhold the tax from my salary. I have SSN, so no TIN.


texts: Was Federal Equity Rule 48 ever invoked against a corporation, or it's like, before the modern era of class action suits?

texts:
The Federal Equity Rule, specifically Equity Rule 48, promulgated in 1842 is seen to be the one of the earliest instances of a predecessor of class action suits in the United States. It states:

Where the parties on either side are very numerous, and cannot with manifest inconvenience and oppressive delays in the suit, be all brought before it, the court in its discretion may dispense with making all of them parties, and may proceed in the suit, having sufficient parties before it to represent all the adverse interests of the plaintiffs and defendants in the suit properly before it. But in such cases, the decree shall be without prejudice to the rights and claims of all the absent parties.

This obviously doesn't name a corporation, or it's like in name, say a joint stock company; mentioning 'parties on either side being very numerous'. Given that corporations date back, at least in England to the sixteen hundreds (and hence in the US as well) and of course, that there would have been other forms of legally sanctioned groups of men organised in pursuit of a common aim, for example, partnerships. I'm curious, as to whether this rule was ever invoked in any case against a corporation or it's like before the era of modern class action suits.
Q. Was there such a case?


texts: For how long are ISPs allowed to store user browsing activity?

texts: If a guy living in an oppressive country such as Saudi Arabia visited an atheist site, for instance. 5 years later, would you tell him that there's a high possibility the ISP deleted the evidence of that from their servers or would you tell him to travel abroad and stay away? Just hypothetically.


texts: What's the meaning of "damages" of copyright infringement under a copyleft license?

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As a general rule, civil suits for copyright violation exist to recover damages caused by the violation, and prevent future damage thereof. Under that standard, a rather novel form of copyright seems impossible to defend: copyleft licenses.

Copyleft, the common descriptor for copyright licenses which allow free use provided any derivative works are released under similarly free terms, attempts to force the spread of open content (most typically software) through clever usage of conditional license grants, most notably used in the GNU General Public License. But how could this possibly be enforced in court? Because this sort of license was designed to guard against violation of one's beliefs, rather than financial damage, in the case of a violation, it would seem one could only claim moral damage.

In short, how would one possibly justify a copyleft violation suit in a court of law?

Edit:

For the purpose of this question, I'm referring alternately to either US law or EU law, as I'm curious about both given the clear differences in intellectual property law between the two.


texts: What are the requirements to teach at a software engineering "bootcamp?"

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Suppose I had the expertise and industry experience to capably teach at a development bootcamp.

Am I required to obtain any teaching certificate of sorts before lecturing? Are the requirements different for teaching assistants?

I'm perusing the requirements for instructor roles in my area, and there seems to be no mention of a relevant requirement. Since these are unaccredited programs, are such requirements waived?


texts: Distribute Sysinternals free console program with my shareware application?

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I am a shareware author (more on the hobbyist level) and I would like to distribute the free SysInternals program Sigcheck (a small console program) as a helper tool together with my program. Sigcheck would not perform the main part of my program's functionality, rather a secondary functionality, by fetching the console output of Sigcheck (for checking the security information of Windows/Microsoft programs).

Would it be enough to put the EULA of SigCheck inside the installed program directory where the SigCheck program file is located?


texts: Is it legal for my landlord to charge me for cleaning my room after I leave?

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I have recently left my room in a student residence in Austria but my landlord said I have to pay for a cleaning rate from my deposit.

Let me give you some insight:

The building is in a very bad state, hallways are dark, mostly illuminated only by emergency lights, the kitchen is very dirty, there are no trash bins there. Supposedly there is a cleaning lady that comes once a week, but I never noticed the difference nor have I ever seen her.
I moved out of my room two months ago to an apartment, and, except for one occasion, I never came back to my room.

The day before handing in the keys I broomed most of the floor and cleaned the bathroom superficially, took my remaining stuff and left.

Next day, when I met with him, we went to see the apartment and he found some spots I haven't cleaned in depth (some dry toothpaste stain in the sink, and some dust in the back of the toilet and below the desk). He told me to clean it and that he would come back in an hour.

As I didn’t have the time, I refused. In consequence, he said he would call a cleaning lady to clean it urgently because the tenant is coming in two hours to inhabit the room. He said he would discount this from my deposit.

By law, in Austria, is it my responsibility to clean the room in depth before handing it over? To my knowledge, the security deposit is to cover any repair costs of things I could have damaged or broken. It’s the landlord's responsibility to clean the room before a new tenant arrives. Which also sets an alarm for me because that would mean that no professionals cleaned my room before I arrived.

If it’s legal to charge me for this, can I request an invoice’s copy to make sure he is charging me the correct price instead of a made up price to keep my money?


texts: Advice on second-hand smoking in apartment building (USA)

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I live in an apartment building in the State of New Jersey, USA area. A neighbor living a floor above me smokes cigarettes all day on his balcony. The smoke consistently travels down and through my windows, filling my apartment with smoke. Sometimes when the wind is blowing in a certain direction, even closed windows can't block the smoke from flowing into my unit. I'm getting constant headaches, and I'm afraid of getting lung cancer at this rate. I tried to talk to the neighbor nicely, but he now even refuses to talk to me at all. The apartment building's management is siding with the smoking neighbor. The neighbor is indirectly degrading my health every day and everyone I talked to thinks this is okay.

Are there any options available at all for me regarding this, legal or otherwise? If anyone knows a better place I can ask this, please let me know as well. I'm desperate and afraid for my health. Thanks for any help.


texts: Is a foreign indepedent contractor allowed to receive payment into a US bank account?

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Suppose that I do work for a US company as an independent contractor, and I'm neither in the US, a US citizen or a US resident. As such, I would fill in a W-8BEN form for tax purposes. Would I then be allowed to receive payment for my services into a US bank account in my name?

Such a bank account could for instance be the one offered by TransferWise, which is easy to open for someone living, say, in the UK. I'm not asking whether it is technically possible, but whether it would be legal under US tax law.

Online search suggests this is an option, however I'm aware of a specific business (whose name I won't disclose) which claims to be unable to pay foreign independent contractors in a US bank account.


texts: Product use documentation and company customer service info conflict, which info is the company liable for?

texts:
In Canada (Ontario) a customer buys a product manufactured by company A.
One of the components of the product is produced by a third party (company B) and has a label stating the limitations of this component.
Companies A customer service representative informs the customer that this product and all its components can be used in a manner that conflicts with the label.
If the use of the product in the manner suggested by customer service causes damage, is Company A responsible for this or should the labels on the product always be followed regardless of information acquired externally.
Concrete example:
Product has a power supply adapter that has a label stating that it can only be used inside. No information in the manuals say that this product can be used outside. A customer service representative says that the product is made and can be used outside.
If because this product was used outside it causes damages, is the company responsible?


texts: Is a EULA required for each software update?

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When installing our software, end users must agree to a EULA before installation.
After a software update/patch is deployed, is it required that the EULA is accepted again, or is an updated version of the software still considered under the same EULA as the original?


texts: DUI conviction in TN. What happens in CA

texts: Found guilty of DUI in TN and license suspended for 1 yr. My lawyer, nor anyone in TN can tell me what will happen to my CA license. What should I do?


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

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Under the Fifth Amendment, one might say at a hearing, "I refuse to answer on the grounds that it would incriminate me." Suppose the subject matter were embarrassing, but not necessarily criminal. Examples follow:

I refuse to comment on an adulterous affair with the defendant. I believe, that adultery is illegal. (In fact, it is illegal in 22 states, although it is almost never prosecuted.)
I decline to comment, even though I was a witness to the action, because to get there in time, I would have to admit to speeding. "Speeding" is, in fact, illegal, but "trivially" so.

Would someone be within their rights to "take the Fifth" in either or both cases? If they were not lawyers and honestly believed that they were properly invoking the "Fifth" would they get off with a warning?