texts:
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  Appeals under, 28USC1292(b) states that an "application" must be made ...
What does "application" mean in this rule?


texts: How could Congress legally abolish the death penalty in all states?

texts:
Let us suppose that a sufficiently large majority of the US Congress, with the agreement of the President, decided that the death penalty should be abolished throughout the nation, both at the federal and state level.  How could they make it happen?

Of course, they could abolish the federal death penalty with an ordinary act of legislation, and the President could pardon or commute the sentences of all federal prisoners on death row.  But 31 states also provide for the death penalty, and in principle, Congress does not have the power to change their laws (Tenth Amendment).  Let us suppose that those 31 states (and their legislatures, governors, courts, etc) are intent on preserving the death penalty, so that a Constitutional amendment to abolish it would not be ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures as required.

The Supreme Court could effectively abolish it by ruling that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment (which also applies to the states via the incorporation doctrine and the Fourteenth Amendment).  But let's suppose the Judicial Branch is not on board.

So how can Congress and the federal government proceed, legally?

They could agree to a "litmus test" policy, to appoint / confirm only Supreme Court justices who they could trust to vote for abolition, as above.  But this would not be effective until sufficiently many vacancies had opened on the Court and been filled, which could take many years.  Moreover, the justices thus appointed could change their minds.
The President's power of clemency only extends to federal crimes, right?  He/she has no power to pardon crimes under state law, nor to order state prisoner reprieved.  So that doesn't help.
They could attempt to coerce the recalcitrant states, by denying them federal funding of one sort or another until they change their laws.  This presumably would work, but would depend on how stubborn the holdout states were, and how much chaos Congress was willing to cause to the public in the meantime (e.g. no roads getting fixed, no Medicaid, etc).
They could make it a federal crime for any state official to perform or authorize an execution.  But would this pass Tenth Amendment scrutiny?
They could pass a Constitutional amendment banning the death penalty, and specify that it should be ratified by state ratifying conventions, as was done for the Twenty-first Amendment, thus bypassing the state legislatures.  However, if the death penalty had popular support in more than 1/4 of the states, the conventions might not ratify the amendment either.

Are there any problems or possibilities with these options that I've missed?  Are there other options that might be feasible?


texts: Video game that refers to other games and movies

texts:
Would it be possible to create a game that refers to other games and/or movies without any form of agreement with the license owners of those titles?
Think "Ready player one", first level is a replica of Doom, second super mario.. etc.
I can't imagine the author signing a contract regarding every title he mentions in the book.
I guess this works a bit different with games and movies than it does with books, am I right?


texts: Is is legal for an ISP to perform planned maintenance that causes an outage without warning?

texts:
Is it legal for an internet service provider (ISP) to stop servicing customers without any warning while the ISP performs maintenance that was planned at least 12 hours in advance?

If not legal, could the damages be tied at all to the customer activity being performed online at the time?


texts: (Re-)formatting and displaying of software licenses/privacy policy/impressum

texts:
I'm currently trying to include and render all the software licenses of products which are used by my software, a privacy policy and an impressum (necessary by German law; stating contact information). Now I've got some questions regarding the indentation and whitespace formatting as well as the displaying in general.

Often legal texts are already kind of preformatted. They are having a fixed width and word-wrapped paragraphs.

If I would display them in my software for several display devices (mobile phones/tablets/desktop pcs), the text field would word-wrap them again and lead to strange formatting (underful lines and too many line breaks).

Am I allowed to undo the word-wrapping of all the texts and unindent them, as well as performing a new word-wrap on them?
Do I have to make sure that it is readable for everyone on every device, and do I have to make sure that accessibility interfaces are used (e.g. for blind persons, which aren't even the target group of my software)?
Do I have to make sure, that if my application wouldn't even start correctly on a device, that the user is able to start the application in an impossible, absurd, magic or religious way to ensure that he can read the legal texts or is it enough to state it on the website then?
Do I have to make sure that the rendering of the licenses/privacy policy/impressum is performant (e.g. text rendering and refresh after scrolling takes less than a second)? I already have to include two external libraries with my software to display the texts, otherwise it would not be possible to display texts at all.

My location/nationality: Germany/German.

My distribution targets: Germany, UK, USA, maybe even some more but mainly countries with English as main language.

Kind regards,

Daniel


texts: UK - Do I accrue holiday when on paid leave?

texts:
I recently received a letter from my employer's HR department telling me that they've given me too much paid leave and they would like the additional money back, however, we are disputing the actual amount I owe as I'm getting two different answers from two different areas of the company about whether the figures are correct or not. My regional office's HR guy (who passes information up to HR at head office to pay us) is saying that we accrue holiday on our paid leave, but the number of leave hours I've accrued according to HR at head office does not include any time I would've accrued while on leave.

To clarify, I work part-time, six days a week with a minimum of four hour shifts and our leave is worked out as roughly 12% of the hours we earn, so for working 100 hours, I'd accrue 12 hours of annual leave which can be broken down to three days at 4 hours each or less should I claim more, say two days at six hours each, and I can theoretically take as many days off as I like provided I have enough leave left.

Does the law state that I accrue holiday on the hours of paid leave I ask for? Or would this be something the company decides to include the hours of paid leave when calculating how many hours of leave I've accrued? I've checked my contract but it doesn't mention anything about it.

I've found plenty of information on this concerning unpaid leave and sickness, but not paid leave which was approved beforehand.


texts: Californian resident travelling in EU - which privacy law applies?

texts:
If a Californian resident is travelling within the EU,  it seems both European GDPR and Californian CCPA privacy laws will apply.
Sometimes businesses have single privacy emails, so if a deleting request is sent how is it responded to?  As a CCPA request or GDPR request?
CCPA has some differences with GDPR; probably records kept for CCPA requests will be different from those of GDPR.   So which law will be applied?
(Though not a part of the question, what if this person has dual citizenship of a third country that has different privacy laws?  It would be helpful if someone could answer this last question too; it is not required but will be helpful.)
This is in response to a comment seeking differences:

Firstly a difference would be records for accountability . Obviously records to be maintained for ccpa should be separate given the format and  laws .
Secondly for gdpr there is an obligation tell about E.U. authorities that in my non lawyer knowledge is not required for ccpa .


texts: What are the steps to follow to use sample from a movie in song?

texts:
I wrote a song and I'd like to insert in it a dialogue extracted from a movie.
Since I believe the original source is covered by copyrights, I'd like to understand how to proceed to get the permission to use it.

I live in UK


texts: Are there things that postnuptial agreement cannot have that prenuptial can?

texts:
My understanding is that the general purpose of both post- and pre- nuptial agreements is the same, and the main difference is that the timing of when they are signed.

But are there legal differences between what can be covered in the agreements? Specifically, are there things that postnuptial  agreement cannot have that prenuptial  can, (aside from things related to marriage annulment, presumably, since you can't annul a marriage that's already valid)?


texts: What is the status of the following contract?

texts:
Buyer contracts to buy an item, such as a house, subject to the condition that feature X (perhaps the swimming pool), is in working order (it's clear in the contract that this is an essential condition). After the signing, but before the transfer of funds, it is found that X is not in working condition, thereby violating this essential condition.

It costs $10,000 to bring X into working condition. The seller doesn't have the $10,000. The buyer wants out, and says "no repairs, no deal." The seller counters by saying, "Please give me $10,000 so that I can make the repairs, and deliver the house, in promised condition," or even "I will lower the net purchase price by the cost of the repairs so that the gross purchase price to you is the same." In essence, the seller is asking the buyer to "front" the repair cost.

Can the seller's counteroffer bring about the operation of the original contract? Or was the original contract's intent violated so that a new contract needs to be negotiated and signed?


texts: What are the limits of religious freedom in the workplace?

texts:
Federally in the US, only race, sex, and religion are protected classes, i.e. it's illegal to make employment decisions (hiring/firing/salary/promotion/etc.) on the basis of a worker's race, sex, or religion.

Let's say that I have a Christian employee, Joe, who verbally harasses a gay employee, Steve. Joe is confronted by management or HR about his behavior, but he defends himself by saying that he is a devout Christian and he is only attempting to save Steve's soul. (For the record, while I personally am a Christian, I don't think the workplace is the right place for these conversations.)

What could the company do? Could they reprimand, or even fire, Joe for his harassment of Steve? Or would the company be required by federal law to keep Joe on staff even when he harasses other workers?

I can think of an example involving only religion as well. If I saw another employee wearing a Satanic symbol I would be very offended. But Satanists have religious freedom too and are also protected by federal law. So who wins?


texts: Can casinos take player losses while avoiding payouts of winning by claiming "malfunction?"

texts:
It's very rare for players to hit the jackpot on a slot machine.  Can a casino make sure they never have to pay that out by having the machines "malfunction" to display a larger-than-maximum amount in those rare cases, and then avoid having to pay out anything close to the maximum, while still retaining all the player losses?

Example stories where the answer seems to be "yes" can be found with Katrina Bookman or Pauline McKee.  Both played the slots at casinos that kept the players' losses, until they were notified by slot machine hardware that they'd won >$40M.  Then the casinos pointed to signs “Malfunction voids all pays and plays,” and claimed that since the machines were malfunctioning, the casino didn't have to pay more than a couple dollars.  The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with the casino in McKee's case and the New York State Gaming Commission agreed with the casino in Bookman's.

In the words of Bookman's lawyer, "the casino used the same broken machine to take money from players, and that everyone who used the machine should at least get their money back...Doesn’t that mean a place can claim a machine is broken every time somebody wins?"  That is the question here.


texts: "As is" clause - Can I remove items not retrieved by landlord?

texts:
I recently signed a one year lease for an apartment that came almost completely furnished as it was previously a short-term rental unit. Prior to moving in the landlord stated that we could use whatever we wanted and that they would remove the unused items. Some of the stuff is great and I am very happy to use it (TV, full bedroom set) but some items I specified I would not be using (I have my own mattress and have no need for another). Additionally, there is a large closet area that was filled with chairs, an additional mattress, and other various pieces of furniture that the landlord mentioned would be removed.

On move in, only a table had been removed from the kitchen area. My roommates had moved the mattresses/other undesirable furniture to the storage closet so it is now completely filled with items that we do not want in the apartment. I have emailed the landlord twice, asking what to do with the items and if there is a plan to remove them but have not received a response.

There is no reference in the lease to use of the storage space or the apartment being furnished, only that the "Tenant takes the Apartment as is".

I am planning on going to their office to see if they have simply been too busy up until now. I would like to remain on good terms with the landlord as they have been helpful and the apartment is rather nice, but there simply is not enough space for us to store unused furniture. If they do not agree to remove the furniture from the apartment, am I allowed to remove the furniture myself?


texts: In the U.S., is it legal to prohibit your tenants from posting outside signs in the rental agreement? E.g. election signs, flags etc. Or would that be a violation of their right if they are renting from you.


texts:
Are government fees, like the one for getting a passport or a drivers licence, considered taxes from a constitutional perspective? To clarify I am not asking for income tax purposes. I suppose it might depend on the service, like the difference between the gas tax and a toll; or the rights to the service, but most fees seem to "look like a tax, and quack like a tax".

The reason I ask is that the Twenty-Fourth Amendment states:

  The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

but, with the new movement by some states to require voters to have identification to vote, and the fact that no state I know of provides free government issued ID (unless you are an employee) it seems that unless a state provided its residents with free access to state-issued ID, that requiring people to go pay for ID's needed to vote would be contrary to the Twenty-Fourth Amendment.


texts: What if a law is literally impossible to follow?

texts:
This question originated from the Australian encryption debate, but I am mainly asking about the US. Just to keep things simple (if a bit absurd), suppose the US passed a law that says,

  Every citizen is required to provide the government with a valid solution to the equation 0x = 50, and will otherwise be jailed.

I’d like to think this would simply never happen, but the reality is that the US government has already done various other things that I would have hoped would be in the “never ever” category.

Although it probably wouldn’t be as blatant as the above example, it seems to me that it is possible the US could pass a law that is literally impossible to comply with. What would happen if it did?


texts: Compensation for gays charged under sodomy laws after Lawrence v Texas

texts: I’m not an American or legally trained, but I’m wondering if there has ever been any compensation awarded to homosexuals fined under sodomy laws, after those laws were found to be unconstitutional. My line of thinking is that, unlike a simple change in law, where the outdated law could still be recognised as having been legitimate over some period in the past, for it to be overturned by the Supreme Court means that it had always contradicted the Constitution and should never have been exercised.


texts:
If I wanted to build a Facebook app for my desktop and post it in the app store to show my potential employers, would I need any special permission? I've seem other Facebook client apps in the app store, did they have to get special permission? What if I chose to do other social media apps instead, would I need permission for Instagram?

Thanks!


texts: Product failed under warranty. What can I do if the company ignores me

texts:
I purchased a product for about $80 which was advertised with a 5 year warranty. I am now in the 4th year of that warranty period and the device has stopped working.

I have emailed the company several times. I finally had a reply asking which product I purchased. I had already clearly stated this, but responded with the details again.

I haven't had a reply in over a month, and have sent weekly emails following it up.

What steps should I take next?


texts: Disclosing damning information as a lawyer

texts:
Let's say I'm a defense lawyer and my client is a criminal that killed 50 people so far, but got away with it every single time, and he's on trial for a 51st, which he's also poised to escape because there's no evidence pointing directly to him.

As his lawyer, he told me about all of his murders, and he gave me information that the police can verify that can link him to all 51 murders.

Here's a concrete example: he took a video of all of his murders, and he hid all the recordings so that the police cannot find them, but he told me (his lawyer) about them and exactly where they are.

If I break client confidentiality and tell the police everything I know, and give them all the evidence they need to 100% link him to all 51 crimes, is he going to walk free because I "didn't follow procedure"?

If so, then the legal system is really effed up...

Just a little discussion I had with a friend, neither of us have any legal education.


texts: Do California process servers typically try phone calls before resorting to ambush?

texts:
I've reason to believe that someone might be planning to sue me (it's unclear). Last Sunday night I got a knock on my apartment door at around 9:30pm from a stranger who tried to talk me into opening it without saying who she was or why she was there. When I asked her who she was trying to see she mumbled something inaudible.

I live in a secure building, so this has me alarmed. Ordinarily I would assume this was a partygoer who had the wrong unit number, or an inept attempt at some kind of fraud or home invasion. But I've heard that process servers try to surprise people with documents out of the blue. Is it typical for California process servers to go straight to ambush before trying more prosaic methods like simply calling the target on the phone to set up a meeting or showing up at the front desk at their workplace?

If not, this is a safety issue I need to address with my building's security.

For clarity, I am not trying to dodge service, nor do I have a strong reason to believe someone is trying to sue me. The only reason I am considering this possibility is that there was an accident, and one of the parties in that accident has not given any indication of planning to sue, but also isn't returning calls.

So I am trying to learn whether it is typical for injury attorneys in California to ambush people with process before having given notice of planning to sue, and while actively dodging calls. If that is true, then this intrusion into my building is explicable and less worrisome. But if it is unusual for California attorneys to behave in this way, then it becomes more likely that this person was a stalker's accomplice.


texts:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/anthony-levandowski-pardoned-after-stealing-trade-secrets-from-google.html says:

Anthony Levandowski pardoned after stealing trade secrets from Google
In August, Levandowski was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing trade secrets.
In March, Levandowski declared bankruptcy after a court said he had to pay $179 million to Google over his split with Waymo.

Do US presidential pardons include the cancellation of financial punishments?


texts: On which jurdical/legal ground can the FBI declare a foreign military officer a " wanted" person?

texts:
I think I previously saw on the FBI website that northern corean/ chinese / russian  military officers  were considered as " wanted" by the FBI.
My point is not that the US has no reason to suspect some foreign military officers of havng " bad" intentions regarding the US interests and security. I'm sure there are some such officers.
What astonishes me is that the US governemnt overtly and through legal ways tries to prevent them from realizing their plans.

I mean, is the US officially at war with Northern Corea/China ?

If its not the case, then how is a juridical action against a foreign military officer compatible with the respect of sovereignty of a foreign country? For the foreign military officer is not acting in his own name.

What does international law say about all this?

Note : I went back today to the official FBI site but could not find the corean military officers any more. I found Chinese and Russian officers cases.


texts: Can I form a single-owner C Corporation in the US as a non-citizen?

texts:
Recently I learned about the Stripe Atlas service, which allows people from all over the world to found a C corporation in the US (Delaware).

If I:

am a Russian citizen,
live in Russia,
have no employees and
no co-founders

can I register a C corporation in the US such that I'm the only owner of it?

In other words: Can I form a C corporation alone?

The main purpose of incorporating in the US is the ability to accept payments from US customers more easily.

On Wikipedia I read

  Most state laws require at least one director and at least two
  officers, all of whom may be the same person.

From that I conclude that it's in fact possible (legal) to have a C corporation with only me as the owner/founder and no employees.


texts: Is there any penalty for intentionally over-reporting income on your 1040?

texts:
When filing their USA Federal taxes, someone might want to state more income than they actually had, for reasons. This would result in paying more taxes than the person actually owes.

Specifically, this unreal income would be reported on 1040 Schedule C, line 1 or line 6.

Are there any laws or IRS regulations which prohibit that?  Since the "error" (actually, deception) is in the government's favor, would there be any penalty other than $0?


texts:
I'm struggling to understand the current Chinese law on bringing encrypted devices into China.
Would it be illegal for someone to bring their work laptop encrypted with BitLocker into China to work abroad? Assume that they refuse to decrypt / turn off BitLocker temporarily to satisfy any requests.
There are articles such as: https://www.thetravelblogs.com/encrypted-laptop-travel-restrictions/ that mention the "Wassenaar Arrangement", but I don't understand if the new law, cited below, is affected by this.  Supposedly China doesn't "subscribe" to the "Wassenaar Arrangement",  and so maybe an import license is required?  But, I'm thinking it's old news (see older news from 2017 at end of this post).

China enacted Encryption Law on 10/26/2019, which took effect on 1/1/2020: https://www.cov.com/-/media/files/corporate/publications/2019/10/china_enacts_encryption_law.pdf
A write-up from a secure drive company on above bullet-point, but it didn't clear it up for me: https://www.securedrive.com/blog/china-passes-regulations-on-data-encryption
a PDF of https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/cryptography-law/ (PDF created since this required a login for me to read): https://docdro.id/dcafIlX

Some older news on this:

from 2017: https://www.cov.com/-/media/files/corporate/publications/2017/10/china_revises_rules_on_commercial_encryption_products.pdf
also from 2017: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-i-travel-internationally-my-encrypted-phone-marco-mazzeschi


texts: Does allowing users to see user tracking on my analytics software violate GDPR?

texts:
I'm not really sure what to title this question, but I've built an analytics software, Paperclip, and this is the dashboard:

However, you can click on a user ID (right) like abaer and see information about the user:

I assume letting people see the user's IP address is okay, but it also shows them other pages the user has visited across all paperclip-enabled websites, not just yours. My friend says this may be a violation of GDPR. Is this true?


texts: Can a company legally require a proof of purchase for a prize-based sweepstakes?

texts:
The company Gefen is running a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed contest (https://gefengold.com).

In the rules they state clearly that although you can theoretically win without a purchase by sending in a UPC number, that will only happen if nobody finds all 5 golden tickets. However, should all tickets be found, you have no chance of winning. (See: https://gefengold.com/golden-rules/)

Every other promotional contest I have seen by other companies states clearly "No Purchase Necessary - Send a self addressed postcard to...", I assume for legal reasons.

So is Gefen breaking the law by requiring a purchase to win?

(This is in the state of New York and New Jersey, USA)


texts: Buying guns from America if I am European

texts:
I wanted to ask something related to the gun dealing policies. If I am European, is there a way I can purchase a gun from let's say Daniel Defense (which is American).

Moved into question from an "answer" by the OP:
I just wanted to ask If I can buy a gun from an American store If I'm European. I know they allow citizens to purchase firearms, I'm well aware of that. And my question was what are we doing If I'm European


texts: May One Turn Left at a Stop Sign When the Car in the Left Street Is Turning Right? (diagram provided)

texts:
After stopping at the stop-sign at a 4-way intersection (2-way stop), is it legal to turn left if the car on the left is turning right?

I am asking about New Jersey law in particular.

Please provide sources if possible.


texts: Multiple "not more than"-style offenses in sentencing guidelines

texts: Federal sentencing guidelines tend to use 'not more than' x amount of time in what I assume is a reverse mandatory minimum, disallowing a judge from 'throwing the book' at the offender. However, some crimes lend themselves to a more....serial nature. Say, when a certain politician obstructs justice dozens of times before he's arrested. Do these 'not more than' sentencing guidelines mean that the multiple individual charges can't be served concurrently? Or is it just referring to a maximum sentence for one instance of the crime?


texts: Does installing or removing software legally constitute modifying a device?

texts:
The terms of service for my bank's mobile banking include this:

  USER MOBILE BANKING SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES

  Ensure the Mobile Device is updated with the latest system software
  provided by the mobile carrier or device manufacturer;

  ...

  Do not modify the Mobile Device to bypass security features or replace
  the system software;

The app refuses to run on a rooted device.  I expect them to point to that last thing about modifying the device to justify it.  But does a software change legally constitute "modify[ing] the Mobile Device"?  It feels to me like a modification to the device would necessarily be a hardware change.


texts: Can DPO do an internal audit of information security according to ISO 27001?

texts: In one company, due to GDPR, a DPO was designated, who was later given additional role and a new task: to conduct an internal audit of information security according to ISO 27001. Is there a conflict of interest here or not? Is this combination of functions (DPO and internal auditor) correct? Will at some point such an auditor not audit his own work as a DPO?


texts: Is it legal to plant lots of trees and plant in an unoccupied lot?

texts:
Background:

Adjacent to our house is an empty lot that has been neglected: its owner lives in another country, and it has collected litter.

My parents said that they discussed purchasing the lot from the owner but couldn't agree on a price.

Months have passed since I planted lots of plants there, most of them are fruit bearing plants and vegetables.

Question:

I am thinking now what if the owner of the lot checks it someday and discovers that I've been using the lot to grow crops without her permission?  Have I violated any laws?  Or do I have rights to use a neglected lot in that fashion?

Edit: Added more information

The vacant lot has been abandoned since I was born, it's been more than decades!


texts:
For a volunteer position at a local public institution, I have been given a list of policies to which I must agree. I have no issues with the specific policies.

My question is because I was asked to sign "anywhere" on the page and return the copy. I'm not sure it's wise to just "sign anywhere" without writing anything else around my name.

I'm considering writing "Acknowledged, (Signature)" but am not sure if there is a better legal phrase to be used in conjunction with my signature.


texts: Does the digitalisation (pdf) of a work already in the public domain has copyright?

texts:
Many academic journals provide access to old articles via a digital copy of it (normally a pdf). Sometimes this is through a Third Party (like JSTOR, a database). Many of these articles are already in the public domain, as the author died more than 70 years ago (for the case of works published in the US and UK). The format in which the work was published lost copyright too, as the publication is older than 25 years.

I know that I could go to my local university, get a copy of one of this old journals, scan it and distribute it, without infringing any copyright.

However, if the publisher (directly, or indirectly through a third party) offers a digital copy of the original document, does this count as a new publication? (which means it has 25 years of copyright)

Notice that "digital copy" normally means a high-quality scan, and not a retyping of the original document. Also notice that many times these articles do not come with a "new" publication date. The date of publication remains that of the original article. Thus, it is not clear to me when the new publication date would be, if this is the case.


texts: How does bigamy affect a UK Spouse Visa?

texts:
I am a British citizen.  I sponsored my 'husband' for a spouse visa but found out he's already married in the USA. His legal wife notified Home Office. I knew he was in a relationship but not that he was married. I married him in the Bahamas last year and quickly applied for settlement visa.

He submitted an application for entry clearance on the basis of our marriage. That application is pending. His wife notified the Home Office that he is already married and wasn't free to marry anyone else.

Could he be banned for deception?

Can he be charged with a crime? He lives and is currently in the USA.

Can I be charged with facilitation? It's been 4 months with no response from Home Office. Submitted documents have been returned.


texts: Is it a crime to take out a loan with no intention to repay?

texts:
This question on Money.SE concerned a person who had taken out a number of loans.  He didn't intend to repay these loans in full, planning instead to default and leave the country.  Several posters on Money.SE claimed that such actions would constitute fraud or theft or some similar crime.  Would they?

For the purposes of this question, let us assume:

The borrower received a single unsecured loan in the amount of $10,000.
The borrower did not misrepresent any facts (such as income, assets, etc) on his loan application.
At the time of applying for the loan, the borrower had already made up his mind that he would not fully repay the loan; and there is evidence to establish this.  (Perhaps he wrote a diary entry to that effect, or bragged about it to someone.)
The borrower has sufficient assets and/or income that he could make the payments without undue burden, if he wanted to.
The jurisdiction is California, USA (though if other jurisdictions are different, that would also be interesting).

Followup: Suppose instead that at the time of applying for and receiving the loan, the borrower did sincerely intend to make his best efforts to repay it in full, but at some later time he changed his mind and decided that, although he had sufficient available funds to make the payments, he wasn't going to do so anymore; and did in fact stop paying.  Would that constitute a crime of any kind?

Obviously the borrower could be sued in civil court and have his assets seized, etc, - but the question here is whether he could be subject to criminal sanctions.


texts: How do I get the title and ownership paperwork for a deceased relative's house?

texts:
My mother passed away. She left a will saying who should receive which items. However, my mother's will lacks a lot of useful information.  For example, the will does not state where the title document is for the house.  It has been agreed that we will sell her house, but I have no idea where to get the ownership papers.
If my mother had a safety deposit box, I have no idea which bank that safety deposit box is. 90% of my mother's belongings went to the local Good Will. We combed through anything for important papers, keys, etc... but did not find a title to the house, or anything regarding a safety deposit box.
My mother's attorney, who I hoped might have some relevant documents, has retired, wants nothing to do with managing my mother's estate, has declined to be her "personal representative," and says he doesn't know anything about her affairs.
My mother lived alone for many years up until her death. Nobody was living with her.
I am in the United States.  Specifically, my mother's house was/is located in Arizona.


texts: What makes someone a "principal officer of an executive department"?

texts:
§4 of the 25th amendment makes reference to "a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide" – Congress has not provided anything else. 5 USC 101 lists the "executive departments". Art II § 2 of the Constitution says that the president

shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges
of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States,
whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for

It is reasonable (but not self-evident) that having been nominated to be a principal officer of, e.g., the Dept. of Justice does not thereby make you one.
What legal precedent can be called on to decide if an acting department head "counts" as a principal officer for purposes of the 25th Amendment §4, either for determining what number constitutes a "majority", and for determining whose written declarations are to be considered?


texts: Is Facebook's new cookie banner GDPR compliant?

texts:
Today I visited Facebook from a Google search to find the following cookie banner at the top of the page:

  To personalize content, tailor and measure ads, and provide a safer experience, we use cookies. By tapping on the site, you agree to our use of cookies on and off Facebook. Learn more, including about controls: Cookies Policy.

From what I understand the GDPR doesn't allow such implicit consent and also there needs to be a prominent way to opt out of this data collection. Has Facebook found a loophole to this requirement or is this approach illegal under the GDPR?


texts:
Without going into specifics too much.

I work on a contract that obviously sets out a specific job description for me and a set amount of hours. However, my team leader is sending me to cover people who are off, who perform a different set of tasks than myself and in a different area, including duties I have never been taught. They are saying because my contract says 'other reasonable duties' this covers me performing these tasks.

It's also worth mentioning that the people I am covering work a shift pattern of 4 on, 4 off... and they are not entitled to breaks (I've never heard of this before, but basically something to do with they can eat whilst it's quiet - it's a security-related job).

When I cover them, I am not entitled to a break, which kind of annoys me because I do not have a break to go to the shop, and I only find out I am going to this post when I arrive at work. If I were to know beforehand I could prepare a meal to take.

I'm curious to know if it's even legal to send me to cover someone's job who is different to mine, and also operate on a separate contract.


texts: Can the original author of a WTFPL Project be sued for patent infringement?

texts:
So I browsed through the WTFPL Feedback Section and found this question unanswered (actually it was answered but I do not want to gun down people in the streets).

So, if somebody sues you, can they actually win the process?
If so, how would I have to modify the license so there are no legal consequences for me when licensing my project?


texts: How do we identify the requirements of determining what a factual matrix is in relation to answering problems in contract law?


texts: Someone used my bank account to do online fraud

texts:
A while ago I was contacted by an old friend who wished to borrow my bank account to do online transactions, which has online banking enabled, while theirs is not. They want to confirm payments before sending the digital goods, so the plan is: whenever a payment is made, I told them and transfer the money, then they release the goods. I agreed and there were several payments, which I promptly transferred to them as soon as I received them. All of this happens in just one day, and no payment made and no further contact, until a few weeks then, my account got frozen.

It turned out that they seem were advertising selling tickets in Instagram, in which they provided my account number and told buyers to send the money there. The tickets were never sent, and the day after the money was sent the Instagram account was deleted. This was the day after I was contacted, so it matched out.

This 'friend' denied the connection with the seller account. The complication was that I've never met in-person with them.

I can prove the chat requesting the borrowing, via Messenger and Whatsapp.

What should I do? Can I be prosecuted if the victim of the fraud reported this to the police? What are my options?

This happened in Indonesia, but I'm interested if this happens in other countries.


texts: Who is responsible for the bull's damage?

texts:
Bob owns and lives on a piece of land adjoining another, vacant one owned by Alice. There is a sheep fence between them which Bob has installed at his own expense (even though he legally could demand Alice to contribute).
There is Rob who owns some cattle and Alice allows him to graze them on her land, despite that they know the fence won't necessarily keep the cattle in.
One day one Rob's bull breaks the fence and makes his way onto Bob's land, causing some other minor damage too.
Who is responsible for the fence and other damage caused by the bull? Alice? Rob? Both?
Would the answer change if Rob was a close relative to  Alice e.g. her adult son?


texts:
Someone moved my things out of my apartment for me while I was out of the country. They then kept my things at their place and since I’ve returned they have refused to return my things to me.

Can I get the police involved?


texts: How to go about sending a DMCA takedown notice to pornographic websites?

texts:
I have a few questions about the DMCA takedown process. A friend of mine is a webcam model for a video chat site. She lives outside of the U.S. and because of this she has had  difficulty getting videos of her public and private shows removed from various third party sites. It is unclear to me at this point whether or not the difficulty stems from the websites' unwillingness to remove the content based on her location, or if it is more a matter of her not fully understanding the English language and not meeting the requirements for an effective DMCA takedown notice. So my questions are:

What makes for an effective DMCA takedown notice specifically in regards to websites that host pornographic material?

Is a website more likely to respond to a DMCA takedown notice if the notice comes from within the United States?

If the answer to the previous question is Yes: how would someone from outside of the United States authorize someone residing in the United States to send a DMCA takedown notice on their behalf?

When sending a DMCA takedown notice, does one send the notice directly to the website in question?

Many pornographic websites have a DMCA link on their page. One such site has this to say when clicking that link:

Requesting for DMCA removal
Depending on which part of example.tv site your material (videos or pictures) was posted, you can request for removal. If you wish to remove any material (picture or video) or have some information changed, you must identify yourself and prove that you are who you claim to be. To do so, you can simply take a picture of you (with face) holding a sign with the following written: "I am MODEL NAME for example.tv". Attach this picture when sending your request to admin@example.tv.

My final question - supposing we send a takedown notice to a website; might they be more inclined to remove the content had we played by their rules? Is this something a model should consider doing or would it be better to take the formal legal route of sending a DMCA takedown notice?

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If any further information is needed please let me know and I will supply all that I can.


texts: With my research, it looks like a patent doesn't really make much profit from it due to the high maintenance fee. So I'm thinking is it possible to license my idea to public (for free or way less money) so that anyone can integrate into their product while they can't register as their patent. Something like Creative Common for innovations. Is there such a method?


texts: When is a person legally considered to be "President-elect" in regards to laws against threatening the President?

texts:
There have been news stories about individuals threatening to kill President-elect Donald Trump shortly after the election, such as this man who did it over Twitter. According to the news article, he tweeted it at 1:42am EDT on the day after Election Day. However, it wasn't until 3:00am EDT that Trump secured 270 Electoral College votes (at least according to the media, since the Electoral College does not meet until later).

From a legal standpoint, when exactly is a person considered to be "President-elect" regarding the laws to threaten the President?


texts: If a SAAS product exposes an API using data licensed under "Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International", do clients have to also attribute?

texts:
If a SAAS product partially uses data distributed under the "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License", and makes that data available through an API. Do clients of the company, who consume the API, need to also attribute in their documentation/advertising?

This question Can work licensed under a Creative Commons license WITHOUT ShareAlike attribute be republished UNADAPTED without the CC license? appears to suggest that it would, and perhaps all of the data with it.


texts: Under US copyright, when licensing software what is "publicly display" and "publicly perform"

texts:
Section 106 of the USA copyright law lists the exclusive rights of copyrighted works.  These are the rights that a software developer may grant for software they have developed.  Unfortunately the exclusive rights were drafted long before software was invented and it's hard to understand how they directly relate to software.

Two of the exclusive rights are the right to publicly perform the work and the right to publicly display the work.

In the context of a source code and binary code software license what do each of these two rights convey and how are they different from each other?

Citations to third party sources that address this would also be greatly appreciated.


texts: How to extend easement to new piece of property being severed?

texts:
I'm in Ontario, Canada. I'm looking at purchasing a piece of land behind my parents cottage. I'll be severing 1-2 acres from a much larger parcel, and because it is behind my parents property there is no official access.
My parents would be perfectly fine with extending the easement/right of way through the corner of their property to get to my parcel, although is this allowed? Or would I need consent from every single person along the existing easement to achieve this?


texts: Legality of Cyber Attack on illegal foreign website

texts: I live in a country where website that provides pornography, illegal drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling, etc are forbidden (in Indonesia). But foreign websites (ex. from western countries) on those service are just insisting to provide access to my country despite the govt in my country already tries to block it all. Is it legal to attack those websites by our personal cyber force in order to shut them down? it will help the govt and useful for training


texts: I have seen in video games and in movies where a SWAT Squad rolls up in this unbelievable but slow vehicle that looks so cool, and I later found out that it was a Lenco Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck, Or more known as a Lenco B.E.A.R.C.A.T (BEARCAT). Due to unreliable sources, I am once again asking this question. Is it illegal to buy a Lenco BEARCAT/BEAR as a civilian if I have enough money to do so or can you get fined?


texts: Why does this movie say a witness can't present a jury with testimony which would assist in making a determination of guilt or innocence?

texts:
In The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) movie, assistant federal prosecutor Richard says:

Richard: The witness can't present them [with] testimony that would assist in
making a determination of guilt or innocence.

Why shouldn't the witness present the jury with testimony which would assist in making a determination of guilt or innocence?


texts: Why is it legal for public funded researchers to transfer their paper ownership to private publishers?

texts:
Maybe it belongs to the academia forum, but I have never understood why public funded researchers can transfer their paper ownership to private publishers. We, the taxpayers, fully pay for the researchers salaries, laboratories material, infrastructure etc. so why can they just give all of their results to someone else? Why do we have to pay again for something we have already paid for?
Despite having myself worked in public research, I genuinely can't tell what is the difference between allowing this, or allowing a bakery to tell their clients "Remember this cake you already pay for? We gave it to someone else, but I'm sure he will be willing to sell it back to you!".
Similarly, a private company would never let its R&D employees decide on their own whether to publish something in a scientific journal.
To simplify, maybe this question can be restricted to US or whatever European country for which someone has an answer.
EDIT: I'm also specifically asking about scientific publications, not patents. Maybe I can restrict it even further with two specific cases:

You work for a private company
You work for CNRS (French research organism)

In situation 2, You can spend your working time (paid by CNRS):

Reviewing papers for a private publisher, who will not pay me nor the CNRS.
Writings books and scientific articles, then freely transfer the rights to a private publisher.

Of course you can't do that in situation 1. Yet, from what I remember from the contracts, there was not much difference between 1 and 2 (besides maybe patents).


texts: Can typical US employers legally fire green card holders for refusing to apply for naturalization?

texts:
8 USC §1324b(a)(3)(B) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against permanent residents, unless said permanent residents have failed to apply for naturalization within 6 months of becoming eligible.

So, if you are a green card holder who flips burgers at a fast food restaurant, is it illegal for your employer to fire you for making the choice to not apply for US citizenship, 6 months after you become eligible? Or, is there a separate statute that forbids such practice?


texts: Difference between protect and defend in a contract?

texts:
From this Maintenance Agreement:

  Customer represents to Slamdot and unconditionally guarantees that any
  elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other
  artwork furnished to Slamdot are owned by Customer, or that Customer
  has permission from the rightful owner to use each of these elements,
  and will hold harmless, protect, and defend Slamdot and its
  subcontractors from any claim or suit arising from the use of such
  elements furnished by Customer.

What's the difference between defend and protect as the relate to litigation? Can someone provide a simple example with a shorter contract?

I've also seen "save" thrown into the mix.


texts: Can California counties make their own traffic laws?

texts:
The state lays out traffic laws pretty clearly, but our county has some specific traffic needs (winter/snow issues). We're looking at having flasing green on recovery vehicles on route to their jobs.

Can a county make a regulation like that?


texts: Income tax: Working for a foreign company from home

texts: Say I live in country A and work from home for a company which resides in country B. Both A and B are members of EU. Where do I pay my income tax?


texts: Do movie producers get pre-emptive waivers/insurance prior to releasing a movie? [Spoiler]

texts:
Warning this post contains a spoiler!
In How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, at the end of the movie:

they show Hiccup and Astrid tossing their children around from dragon to dragon as they do daredevil stunts in the sky.

This is similar to many incidents that occur when kids see things on TV and try to replicate them in real life. This article is an example of numerous such incidents over the years. As a result many ads now have the disclaimer "Do not try this at home" etc...
But in movies, there is no such disclaimer when a stunt like that occurs? Is it at the end of the credits where people never read?
Or does someone in Hollywood look at a scene in the movie pre-air and decide "oop, this might be a potential litigation" and prompt a waiver of some sorts that indemnifies them against potential lawsuits?


texts: Will tenancy agreement still be valid if the property manager/broker who signed on behalf of landlord is terminated?

texts: In BC, Canada, if a tenancy agreement is signed by a brokerage/property manager on behalf the landlord, and the property manager's contract is terminated early, will that make the tenancy agreement invalid? Does the tenant need to re-sign with the landlord directly? Or does nothing need to be done?


texts:
According to Wikipedia,

  The Ellis Act (California Government Code Chapter 12.75)1 is a 1985 California state law that allows landlords to evict residential tenants to "go out of the rental business" in spite of desires by local governments to compel them to continue providing housing.

Are there any other US states that have equivalent legislation to the Ellis Act? I could not find any states with legislation equivalent to the Ellis Act in my research, however, I am skeptical of my search as I am not aware of what I may have missed due to alternate wordings.


texts: Can any lawsuit be filed by a sitting US president at the state level?

texts:
For the sake of argument, let's say that in the 2020 elections Trump lost these 19 "Much more republican" states (according to this NY Times article) that he had easily won in 2016:

According to an excerpt of this NY Times article and Tuesday's debate, it's very clear that Trump has been recently pushing to discredit the election:

President Trump’s angry insistence in the last minutes of Tuesday’s debate that there was no way the presidential election could be conducted without fraud amounted to an extraordinary declaration by a sitting American president that he would try to throw any outcome into the courts, Congress or the streets if he was not re-elected.

This is an assumption, but Trump being Trump, he will not only try to discredit the elections of all these states but he will also want to win by a huge margin (he said he wanted to win 9-0 if it went to the Supreme Court).
My question: what process would he need to go through to discredit the votes of the 19 "Much more republican" states that he had won in 2016 but lost in 2020?
In this closed question, a user mentioned that he needs to file a lawsuit in "state or federal court with jurisdiction over the state in which an irregularity was alleged".  Would this be his first step of would another "entity" need to verify that his complaint merits a lawsuit?
For example, at the debate he said he found ballots in a river. Can he file a state-level lawsuit saying that there's fraud or a miscount because someone found ballots in a river? He also said that he would send his followers to the voting booths, and one of these guys says that he "saw" fraud taking place. Is that enough for a lawsuit?
And how long would all of this take? Trump being Trump, I assume he'll try to drag out as long as humanly possible.


texts: Hiring a UK resident and citizen to work remotely in a Finnish company (pre and post brexit)

texts:
Company A: a software development startup. Incorporated in Finland.

Person B: An UK resident and citizen

A is looking to employ B to work entirely remotely. Because of reasons, it is not possible to have B be a contractor of any sorts, hire him through an UK company or to set up a new company in UK for the sole purpose of employing him.

Based on limited research on Finnish law this is not a problem, i.e. B just handles the taxes and employee fees himself. UK side is a complete mystery, i.e.:

Is this even possible
a) while UK is an EU member
b) after a no-deal brexit
Are there any tax mines/double taxation issues
a) while UK is an EU member
b) after a no-deal brexit
How would the logistics of this work, i.e. how exactly does B fulfill his obligations to UK tax authorities


texts: Do people lose their right to defend their house if they make it look like their house is uninhabited?

texts:
What should Bryan Smith have done when two burglars came to his house?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2014/04/29/morrison-county-jury-discussing-byron-smith-case/8465609/

Two burglars came to his house. He shot them, and they died.

The prosecutor argued that by removing trucks from the premise he is "baiting" burglars.

Is it illegal to remove trucks from premises?
Now that the burglars are in his house, what should he have done?

I still do not understand the verdict. I mean, do you lose your right to defend yourself if you make it look like your house is uninhabited? Are you obligated to signal to would-be burglars that you will shoot them?

In the case of Bryan Smith case, has the prosecutor established that the removal of his truck is done solely for baiting burglars?

One controversy in the case is that after he shot a burglar, he finish the job.

I do not know how much of this got into a jury. However, I would have done the same if I were him. Soldiers in wars double tap because enemies they think are death (not just injured in legs), may actually still be alive and kill. There are cases of people stop beating up robbers thinking he won, only to have the robbers' friend stab him in the back.

For all Bryan Smith knows, those teenagers could be assassins sent by gangs to kill him. The boy and the girl may bring life grenade they can activate for suicide bombing. It may not be. But how does he knows?

The probability is small. May be 1%, or 2%. Still, why should a home owner risk his life for life of two worthless burglars? The safest thing to do is to just kill the burglars.

Why take unnecessary risks when your life is in danger by some people that's obviously up to no good?


texts: What is the remedy if a lawyer forges a client's signature on a will?

texts:
Assume that a lawyer forges his or her client's signature on a will.

What is the remedy for anyone who believes they've been injured by the execution of the will?


texts: Landlord Says Lease Agreement Has A "Mistake" - Can I Hold The Landlord To Honor It?

texts:
When applying for an apartment, I signed a reservation agreement with a rental quote on it: $1000 rent + $70 for pet rent.
After signing the lease, I noticed that the property manager checked the box saying the $1000 rent INCLUDED the $70 pet rent.
My first month of rent, I was only charged $1000.
For the second month, I am being charged $1070. I presented this issue to my property manager and he said the lease had a mistake on it. He sent over an addendum for me to sign, raising my rent to $1070 due to the pet rent.
Am I legally obligated to sign this new addendum, or can I stick with what the lease says? There is a clause in the lease that says "the Lease contract is the complete agreement" and that "no other promises, agreements, or representations matter".


texts:
So, I would like to know what laws are there regarding the following scenario. Suppose that I commit some crime which unintentionally frames my friend. Let us say that I hack something but using my friend's PC and his internet connection without his knowledge. Now he gets caught but I am feeling guilty. So is it possible for me to claim that I had committed the crime without his knowledge and hence take the punishment on myself? Note that I would have no proof to assert myself, just my claim.

How would it vary if I am a relative instead of a friend?
How much would it depend on the country?


texts: Removing negligent care clause from service agreement

texts:
I'm already in an agreement with a dog walker/dog boarding service that takes care of walking my dogs and board them when I'm away and can't take them with me.

Recently I've been notified that the agreement we had originally signed had changed  . The change is as follows:

Original text

  The service provider can accept no liability for loss or injury to any pet whilst in the Service Provider's care nor for any death of a pet unless it was deemed that the service provider has been negligent in care

The changed text:

  The service provider can accept no liability for loss or injury to any pet whilst in the Service Provider's care nor for any death of a pet.

I am not a lawyer but this strikes me as strange. My question is mainly, what would happen under the new agreement (assuming I sign it) in the cases the Service Provider is negligent in care and my dog gets injured or killed?

For example if while boarding my dog the service provider does not properly secure the kennel or area the dog is in and the dog gets out and gets hit by a car, does this mean the Service provider no longer accepts responsibility for that? Is there any general fallback outside the legal agreement that would help protect me from such an event?

If this helps or is relevant, the agreement is within the United Kingdom.


texts: Can I use a mangaka's work as my tumblr blog icon/background?

texts: I know quite a number of people who do this, but I just want to know for sure. The blog is non-commercial and dedicated to a manga. It's for sharing and other fans to browse.


texts: Is everything legal for me due to psychiatric reasons?

texts:
I witness that I did some things which are considered a rave by most people (and most psychiatrists): fought with aliens, was transformed for a period of time into a superman able to tear steel and calculate like a computer, etc. And yes, now I have a very great mission originating from the heavens on the Earth.

Does this have legal implication for my life that I am allowed everything (i.e. everything is legal for me)?

I understand that if I commit a dangerous crime I could be put into a psychiatric clinic.

If I commit a crime that carries civil penalties but is not dangerous and get caught, will I get punished or will I be able to plead insanity and get let off free?

The jurisdiction in topic is Israel (where I live) and also the US (where I registered some entities).


texts:
Say one day Country A attacked Country B, and this began a full blown war between the two countries.

During this war, Country B seized some of Country A's territory along their mutual border, and Country B ended up winning the war.

Now that the war has ended, is Country B required by some international law or law of war to return the seized land to Country A?

Does it matter that Country A started the war, not Country B?


texts: Did the judge try to order me to pierce the corporate veil?

texts:
In a legal proceeding a couple of months ago, I was unfortunately at the disadvantage of not being represented by my attorney. (There is a reason which is unrelated to this question.)

I'm not a lawyer; I have no idea how things are supposed to proceed in court. I'm also a CEO of a startup which was pre-revenue and at the time of this event, had not yet closed our current round. As is the way of startups, our owners' draw was less than $500 a month for both myself and my co-founder for the entire preceding year; neither of us had been paid in a very long time.

I am not the only managing member of our company, and while technically I could access any aspect of the company I demand, our CFO has authority over all of our financial concerns and my co-founder, our COO, manages our day-to-day operations. Of the money in the business bank account, every last dime came from accredited angel investors on convertible promissory notes (preferred - all the investors have repayment preference.) At the time of this event, our company was still formed as an LLC.

My question is this: the judge asserted that simply because technically I have access to do so, I could be expected to clean out the business bank account to address whatever individual, personal matters were at hand.

Surely I can't be ordered to steal from our investors? Cleaning out the business bank account would be embezzling or fraud or both?
Is there a remedy for a judge who "orders" you to break the law? (Not
asking if the order would be tossed out - asking if any kind of
rebuke exists)

  Noteworthy: Since no circumstances exist under which I will be compelled to rip off my investors, I simply proposed a settlement that leveraged an inheritance, hence this question is not an issue of my personal circumstances; I'm just curious.


texts:
Idea

Lets say I post some kind of information, for example a research on something, or for another example a new idea, lets say a new defined board game with its rules and all that is still in the stage of development and testing and I don't want the idea to be stolen.

Lets say I post it on a free hosting website service like Weebly for example, so the people I'm working with and possibly new people can easily interact with it to possibly help with the improvements.

And I write somewhere on there, something like "This information should, and can only be used (unless directly allowed by author otherwise) for non-profit personal use or personal entertainment, and cannot be repuplished or reclaimed, even when modified, unless it is for a non-profit informational personal use and its strictly owned by (my email here)."

Questions

Is this something that can be done simply like this? Or all of the information there will be public and free to use anyway, but why so, and how to make it otherwise by the simplest way?

Also what could be done if someone sees it, then claims to have discovered it him/her-self and that he or she haven't seen my page, that its just an accidental similarity, or even that I'm the one that stole his/hers idea?

Lastly, should I also carefully read the terms of the free hosting service I'm posting to, in case it can take ownership of anything published on it?


texts: Can an illegal immigrant be buried in the United States of America by relatives?

texts:
I have heard it said that an illegal immigrant cannot be buried in the United States. That makes no sense: if an unlucky illegal immigrant with no family is killed, I am sure the Government would provide some kind of burial or cremation, or else the body would rot away in the open, creating a potential health hazard.

My question is more specifically about the case where the illegal immigrant has family and said family wish to bury the deceased in the United States. Is that allowed? Would the family first have to provide proof that the deceased was legally authorized to be in the United States (something which could not be done if the deceased were an illegal immigrant)?


texts: Contact Microsoft legal department, or other ways to facilitate reinstatement of a Google Play app

texts:
I used an icon of Microsoft Notepad (taken from Wikipedia) as the icon for a free Notepad application Fast Notepad in Google Play. It probably was beneficial for the community, as it had no ads, and many users could use it for education, and they accepted it with a high rating of 4.7. But currently it is suspended by Google Play, presumably because of the icon. So legal permissions for the image need to be discussed to handle copyright issues.

If the app is reinstated for a short time, so I can change the icon to another, this will be the desired result. I have not yet filed an appeal (the owner of a suspended app can send a proof of their rights, but only once).

Is there a means to contact Microsoft legal department or similar on this issue or another way of solving the problem? Any information would help.


texts:
A while ago on English.SE TimLymington posted:

  For what it's worth, embarrassing is a term of art in the British
  courts, meaning 'impossible to prove or disprove (and so having no
  place in a court of law)'.

Is there a source for this statement?


texts: Are standard apartment leases' hold harmless clauses legally enforceable?

texts:
I happened to be looking through a new apartment lease and saw the following clause:

  HOLD HARMLESS FOR GUESTS. To the fullest extend permitted by law, Residents agree to defend, protect, indemnify, and hold harmless Owner and Owner's agents against and from any and all claims, suits, liabilities, judgements, costs, demands, causes of action, and expenses, brought by Residents, Occupants, Residents' guests, and any other individuals in the Leased Premises with Residents' permission. If any action or proceeding is brought against Owner or Owner's agents by reason of any such claim, upon notice from the Owner, Residents shall defend the same at Residents expense by counsel reasonable satisfactory to Owner.

This appears to basically mean two things:

The apartment cannot be held liability for literally anything.
If a resident attempts to hold the apartment liable, not only must they pay for their own legal costs, they'd have to pay for the apartment's legal defense as well.

Are the two points above accurate, or am I misunderstanding the clause? Is there any way this type of clause wouldn't immediately be thrown out of court?  This seems absolutely ridiculous on the surface, but it seems to be fairly standard boilerplate for an apartment lease.


texts: Which part of the US constitution protects the life and safety of US citizens?

texts:
I could not find any interpretation of the US constitution that US citizens have the right of life and safety. So what is the constitutional base for laws of crimes against the person (murder, battery, rape...)?

Does the provision of the 5th amendment "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" applies also against criminals or it is intended only against government?


texts:
This is more of a thought experiment, but can a government choose to list itself on the market and be bought? For example, if I somehow make a deal with a country's government, can I assume their sovereignty, have their seat on the UN, and make use of their military, economy, resources, lands, ...? Or similarly, they could still diplomatically retain their position (other countries will still acknowledge the incumbent government as legitimate) when I am the actual person who makes all the decisions.
There is no precedent on this, nor there are any specific provisions for this in any constitution, but I just want to know the most "technically" answer possible.


texts: UK: Can I give money to my brother instead of him paying income tax on a share of my rental income?

texts:
Let's say my brother acts as guarantor for my mortgage, so that I can buy a bigger house than before. He does not put his name on the house deeds, and he does not contribute to mortgage payments, I can still afford these on my own. I then make ~£9000 a year profit in renting out 3 of the rooms, and in 5 years, the house increases in value by £30,000.

My brother then wants to buy a house. As a thank you for putting his name on my mortgage and helping me, I want to give him £30,000, to help him with his deposit.

Would the law see this as a gift (tax free), or would they see it as us trying to avoid income tax that we would have to pay, if for example, we decided to pay my brother in rental income from my house instead?


texts: Is a school legally required to accept pennies as payment?

texts:
At my public high school in Florida, Seniors are required to pay for parking in the Senior parking lot.

There is a student who doesn't like that he has to pay, so in order to spite them he went to the bank and got $15 in just pennies. The school has denied this payment, and he is threatening to get a lawyer just to make the district lose money (he really hates this school).

Is the school legally required to accept pennies as payment for a service (parking in the parking lot) or can they request that he pay in bills only?


texts: What are the limits to "cross examination?"

texts:
A witness takes the stand, and answers a number of questions about the issue in controversy. Then the opposing side gets to "cross" examine him or her.
To what extent is cross examination limited only to subjects brought up in direct examination? Can the cross examiner dig into a bunch of background issues in a witness' past to prove bad character or bias, for instance? Or is there an "intermediate" position whereby cross examination is limited to issues brought up on direct examination, plus certain specific "tangential" issues not brought up previously (e.g. "rape shield laws protect a victim from being asked certain questions).


texts: Suing a Spanish company in Spanish courts as an UK citizen - Brexit

texts:
I want to sue a Spanish company and I'm a UK citizen hence currently an EU citizen. I've been told EU citizens have a right to sue Spanish companies through Spanish courts, whereas non-EU citizens must use their home country's courts.
England leaves the EU in December 2020 and I've been told that Spanish courts may stop accepting cases from UK citizens due to Brexit if I file my case in August/September. I may not have time to file my case this month (July) and the courts close in August due to holidays.
Can anyone provide any guidance regarding this? I've spoken to someone informally and not had any legal advice from a Spanish lawyer.


texts: Why is English law so important to finance?

texts:
What are the features of the English law that make it so indisposable to international finance and particularly offshore companies?

I've recently bumped into this passage when reading about Cyprus, which is sort of an offshore center for companies working on the Eastern European markets, particularly Russia and Ukraine:

  There is no alternative to Cyprus as a jurisdiction. The tax system for holdings is far too advanced and flexible. The Netherlands and Luxembourg do contain some features, but those conditions are still not as favorable for investors. There is no direct matching. You cannot simply take a Cyprus company and replace it like a piece of Lego in Luxembourg. You would need to use several jurisdictions, with several layers of holding companies in order to achieve a cascading system of tax distributions.

Source: mondaq.com

From what I understand, Cyprus stands out precisely because it runs on English corporate law. But which major parts of the law help Cyprus surpass the Netherlands and Luxembourg? Why don't the Netherlands and Luxembourg (and other countries, really) simply copy them?


texts: Can copying simple general code cause copyright infringement? And is it even possible to avoid that?

texts:
Imagine that during writing software for the employer, I created simple helper function
IsPositiveNumber(x) which returns true if x > 0 and false otherwise.
Or function TrimBlanks(text) which returns text without leading and trailing spaces and tabs.

Let's say that those functions are very simple inside and can be re-created by an average developer in a few minutes.

Now, if I will create an open-source software or change the employer, how serious ownership violation would I commit when I will simply copy those two functions into new code?

Maybe shall I open-source such functions and then ask for permission to include that open-source library?

And even if I will write them anew, it is very likely that they will be 90% identical with original ones (including their names), because there are not many ways (in my mind) how to create their body or how to name them.

So does it matter if I copy those functions over or if I write them anew? Even if I write them anew, how can I prove that I did not copy them?

Or is this a thing on which no sane person will build an IP lawsuit?


texts: Is the real estate contract still enforceable if ZERO Earnest Money Deposit is placed in Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement?

texts:
I thought earnest money constitutes buyer's consideration. So, without earnest money, the seller can void the contract on the ground of Buyer's Lack of Consideration. Because of that, I occasionally heard people putting down a token amount of $10 or $100 for consideration.

On the other hand, I also heard that buyer's purchase price payment itself is buyer's consideration, and according to this post, earnest money is instead used to compensate liquidated damage in the event of buyer's preach of contract.

My question is, if the sole purpose of earnest money is to pay for the potential liquidated damage, will the contract still be enforceable if the buyer pays absolutely no earnest money given that both parties agree with this arrangement?


texts: Do Prisoner Vehicles Transportations Stop At Red Light?

texts: In Indonesia, whenever prisoner vehicle transportation passed, they always drive in a row and honk loudly whenever they get stuck. Is there any law about whether they could run red light? Is there any consequence if they stop? What about the law in US?


texts:
My crude understanding has been that one can become a citizen of Switzerland only by becoming a citizen of one of the cantons, and one can become a citizen of a canton only by becoming a citizen of a municipality, and the discretion at that level is so broad that it's a question of whether local officials or your neighbors like you. One person I know had his first application turned down because the mayor of the village thought he looked like a hippie. This article says "The case has now been transferred to the Cantonal government in Aargau, which can overrule the decision". I hadn't heard of that before.

Is a short but accurate summary of Swiss naturalization laws possible?


texts: Is the New Hampshire version of a criminal threatening law defective?

texts:
In New Hampshire law, RSA 631:4 makes "Criminal Threatening" a crime. The law begins:

A person is guilty of criminal threatening when: (a) By physical
conduct, the person purposely places or attempts to place another in
fear of imminent bodily injury or physical contact; or ... (etc)

This seems like kind of sweeping statement. By comparison the Massachusetts statute (275 Section 2) specifically says that for an act to be criminal threatening, the action threatened must be a crime. The New Hampshire does not say this at all. In fact, simply threatening to "place another in fear of imminent...physical contact" is a crime. So, by that standard every high school linebacker would be a criminal because they put the fear of "imminent physical contact" into their opponents.
Also, we can think of many other situations where people are put into "fear of bodily injury" or "contact". Without the constraint that the contact would be unlawful, the law seems to be absurdly open ended.
So, assuming that the law is defective, is there any remedy for this in court? Can a defendant argue that a law is invalid because it is defective?


texts: GDPR - Confirm company terms and conditions by button click

texts:
This May the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be applied across the EU. I read somewhere that users have to always 'opt-in' after this law is effective. Since I'm concerned about conversion for a website, is it OK to let users confirm by using a button?

For example, like Mailchimp does:


texts: Would distributing a vocabulary list for a copyrighted work violate the copyright of the original work?

texts: I am considering the scenario where a vocabulary list is produced for a movie or book through use of an automated program, perhaps with manual cleanup. I get the impression that the copyright status of the list itself is a bit unclear in terms of whether it is copyrightable or not(as seen in other questions), however that is not my question. I am wondering whether the author of the original material which was referenced (ie, the author or publisher of the book or movie that was examined) would have any claim of copyright infringement against the producer of that list (for the purposes of this question you can assume it is being used commercially). I am interested in the answer world wide, although for EU, US, Canadian and Japanese law are probably the most important for my purposes.


texts: How can I get back my dead mother's ring, which I gave to a family friend?

texts: My mother has been dead for a couple of years now and upon her death I received her butterfly ring and her ashes. I had given her ring to a family friend who was like a mother to mine, but unfortunately I may have to cut contact with her. Is there a way for me to get my mothers ring back? I was unaware she had several things from my mom and I had foolishly given it too her, while all I have to remember my mom is three photos and a name tag from her last job.


texts: Does a California employer have to provide drinking water within a certain distance from your work area?

texts: Does your employer have to provide drinking water within a certain distance from your work area? I work in a different building from the nearest drinking fountain


texts: Are the police legally obligated to report an illegal immigrant who reports a crime?

texts:
Say that a person is an illegal immigrant in the United States and a crime is committed against them, such as robbery, domestic abuse, etc. If they report the crime to the police, and a police officer discovers that the person is an illegal immigrant, do they have a legal obligation to report them? Or does being the victim of a crime give them some sort of immunity against this?

This question is prompted by the beginning of story on the radio about how illegal immigrants who were victims of domestic abuse were afraid that they would be deported if they went to the police. I didn't hear enough to know if their concerns were justified.


texts: Which state has jurisdiction in a case of a murder in an airplane?

texts:
A murder happened in an airplane flying from country A to country B when crossing above country C.

Who will have jurisdiction?

Bonus question: What if countries A, B and C are members of the European Union?


texts: Is Monsanto still suing farmers over "gene theft"?

texts:
I just saw "Food Inc" last night, a 2008 movie about the food industry.

In the movie they detail how Monsanto was targetting farmers who were trying to grow their own seed and suing them. What would happen is that a neighboring farm would be using Monsanto's genetically modified seed and some of the pollen would drift over into the natural farmers soybeans and cross polinate them. Monsanto would then send PIs to find such cross polinated growths and then threaten to sue the farmer for violating their "gene patent" unless the farmer agreed to buy Monsanto seed.

Is Monsanto still doing this? What is the legal basis for this?


texts: Can federal prosecutors go against the Justice Department's interpretation of the law?

texts:
Suppose that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has a belief or opinion about what the proper interpretation of a certain statute or Constitutional provision is, and that they have formalized their opinion on this matter in a memo produced by the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).  My question is, can a federal prosecutor, i.e. a prosecutor working for the DOJ, go against such an opinion of the DOJ?  Are there DOJ rules or regulations which prohibit this, and would a prosecutor who went against an opinion of the DOJ be subject to disciplinary actions?

If there are such rules or regulations, do they apply to a Special Counsel?

By the way, this question was inspired by my Politics.SE question here, which is related to an OLC memo that states that the DOJ does not have the power to indict a sitting President.  I was asking about whether if a federal prosecutor tried to pursue such an indictment anyway, if it would run afoul of DOJ rules and regulations.  But that got me thinking about going against OLC memos in general.


texts: Were the Nuremberg trials legal with respect to the US constitution?

texts:
I'm very much a layman, and an Englishman rather than American, with an interest in political philosophy. I was reading through the US constitution the other day, and one sentence in Article I, Section 9 stood out to me:

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

With respect to ex post facto laws in particular, this made me wonder about the legality of the Nuremberg Trials. One of the key points made by the defendants at Nuremberg was that their transgressions - the mass killings, the conspiracies to wage wars of conquest, etc - were not crimes under German law at the time they were committed.
The Nuremberg trials represented an uncomfortable fusion of American, British and Soviet law. To the best of my knowledge, there is no straightforward ban on ex post facto legislation within British law, although there is a vague consensus that such laws are unjust and are to be avoided. Whatever the articles contained within it, the Soviets in this period only seemed to treat their constitution as a set of guidelines and aspirations. But it strikes me as odd that the Americans would be willing to overlook such a clear ban, since they, more than any other nation, have tended to view their constitution as a kind of sacred text.
I anticipate that one response to my question will be that the US constitution applies to domestic matters, and not to international law. This seems correct at first glance, until we read in Article I, Section 8 that one of the powers of Congress granted by the constitution is 'To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations'. But I'm sure that there are many layers of subtlety that I'm failing to grasp here, and I'd be grateful to anyone who could put me straight.

I think I should close with the disclaimer that, in calling into question the legality of the Nuremberg trials, I don't intend to exonerate any of those who were convicted. They were certainly criminals in the moral sense of the word, and, putting questions of legality to one side, the world was better off without them in it.

Regarding the matter of whether this question is a duplicate, I'll quote one of the comments below:

The linked question is relevant, but not a duplicate. It briefly mentions the question of whether the trials operated under ex post facto laws, but devotes more space to other purported issues. None of the current answers address this issue. This should not be closed as a duplicate.


texts: I'm in California and my tenant just moved out.  We found them never clean the premises and found mold in kitchen sink area and bath sink.  Am I allowed to charge the tenant for mold cleaning?


texts:
We manage an application for a customer who owns all source code and all software licenses for this application.
Application use Syncfusion library, customer have acquired the license in his name.
Without an active licence subscription (license expired 1 month ago) customer can still use the product that include library, it seems obvious ...
But without an active licence subscription can we still deploy new product release (with the library version before license expiration) ?
UPDATE :

A single developer manage application/project
We're the unique IT service provider for the customer
Application is an ASP.NET Website (intranet/extranet)

Thanks for your help


texts: Is forming an LLC soon after being made aware of a lawsuit a legitimate way of protecting your personal assets?

texts:
Say you operate a quasi-business. You make money, but the operation is categorized as a hobby by the IRS and isn't actually registered.

If someone sues you, can you quickly form an LLC and then "transfer the blame" to the LLC, or will the court see what you're doing and still make you liable?


texts: I have heard that a law passed in one of the above years says a doctor is required to give medical attention to any born-alive infant.  I'm just trying to find the law


texts:
How does the attribution part of the CC license work when you have people copying from a third party source? For example, if Person A posted a video on a website under the license CC-BY, Person B finds it and uses it in his video (crediting Person A), and Person C finds Person B's video and uses Person A's section in his own video. Who should Person C credit? Person A or Person B? How do I make it so that they have to credit the first person who made it, instead of Person C crediting Person B crediting Person A?

Would this aspect be the same with CC-BY-SA?


texts: Is it legal for a tow company to enter my car to remove an expired parking sticker and then tow my car?


texts: Question about Freedom of Religion in Kentucky’s State Constitution

texts:
The Bill of Rights, Section 5, of Kentucky’s Constitution says:

  ”and the civil rights, privileges or capacities of no person shall be taken away, or in anywise diminished or enlarged, on account of his belief or disbelief of any religious tenet, dogma or teaching. No human authority shall, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience.”

I personally and sincerely believe when my particular God says:

  ”Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29

...that means I have the God-given right to grow and consume any plant that I wish (ex. Cannabis). Is this true, or is growing and consuming plants not considered a human right?


texts: Has there ever been a case where a company or person takes themselves to court?

texts:
Weird question I just had, sort of summarised in the title really. Has there ever been a case, anywhere in the world, where a person or company (or company vs subsiduary) has taken themselves to court. If an example exists, its probably because of some weird contract or legal clause that forces the case, and will get thrown out quickly (but prove me wrong...).

What I'm not looking for:

Cases where an employee (or ex employee) has taken action against their employer (or ex employer). Grievences for any number of reasons are quite common.
Family vs family cases. This is unfortunately also quite common, ie over wills and issues of inheritance. (The exception to this is detailed below).

One case I'm aware of is which is family vs family that was not serious but went to court is the case of a woman who took her nephew to court after he gave her a hug and broke her wrist. This was forced because of a stipulation in her medical insurance.

I'm guessing any company vs self action will be for tax evasion/hollywood accounting purposes.


texts: Would it be illegal for Joe Biden to take back pardons issued by former President Donald Trump?

texts: I've been wonder whether this would be illegal to do if Biden were to take back pardons issued by Trump. Does Biden have that authority to do so if he wanted to or would it be Un-Constitutional?


texts: Is there a limit to the liability an airline can impose on a passenger because of their behaviour?

texts:
There is a story in the news today about a woman being charged £85,000 after she caused a flight to be diverted due to her behaviour.

I believe this is section 23.3 in Jet2's Conditions of Carriage. A quick scan of other airlines revealed both British Airways and Easyjet have similar conditions while Air France, KLM and Lufthansa do not.

Is there a specific aspect of UK law that allows this in the UK and not in mainland Europe or is it up to the airline? What is the legal basis to impose this liability?


texts: What is a "Right of a seat in church" Easement attached to land

texts:
I was casually reviewing property statutes for Oklahoma, as one is wont to do, when I came upon:
60 OK Stat s60-49:

The following land burdens or servitudes upon land, may be attached to other land as incidents or appurtenances, and are then called easements:
...

The right of a seat in church

How can "The right of a seat in church" burden a land as an easement?
What does a "right of a seat in church" easement even mean?


texts: How can a 501(c)(3) nonprofit require "members" to pay "dues"?

texts:
United States here. Lots of 501(c)(3) organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America, charge their members monthly and/or annual dues.
My understanding was that the only nonprofits that can have "due-paying members" are 501(c)(7) social clubs. Is this not the case, or is there a loophole somewhere that allows 501(c)(3) orgs to have due-paying members?


texts: Can someone's name be removed from software they created if they transferred ownership of the software?

texts:
Let's say that John is on Blue Team. Blue Team is a private, non-profit entity in the US that receives some funding from the federal government.

John wrote some software while on Blue Team that was explicitly made for Blue Team to use. John put his name at the top of many of the code files he wrote. This code is public on Github, but does not have a license specified.

However, John did something bad and was kicked off of Blue Team. During this process, John transferred ownership of the code repository on Github to Jane.

Some members of Blue Team would be disturbed to see John's name. Because of this, Jane would like to change all mentions of John's name to "former Blue Team member."

Can Jane do this?

Does Jane's ability to do this depend on Github's rules for repository ownership, Blue Team's policy on IP created while on paid time, or something else?

It seems likely that Jane would be able to remove John's name from the code on Github, but can Jane remove John's name from other versions of the software too? (Such as the versions of the software used internally by Blue Team.)


texts: Is there any theory that would let someone recoup their money from buying overpriced jewelry?

texts:
This question is inspired by this article.

Alice purchases jewelry from dealer, Bob, for $15 million.
Alice hires Carol to appraise jewelry.
Carol advises Alice jewelry is worth $5 million.
Alice sues Bob for $10 million.

Is there any legal theory under which Alice could win her suit against Bob? If so, what are the minimum facts Alice must prove?

Clarifying assumptions

This is not a fraud case. Bob did not defraud Alice in the sense that he promised to deliver X and, instead, delivered Y.
As a dealer, Bob knew the jewelry would appraise for $5 million when he sold it to Alice.
Bob told Alice the purchase was a "great investment" that would "only go up in value."
All legally required disclosures and disclaimers (if any) were made.
The suit occurs after any statutory buyer's remorse period expires (if any).
The sale took place in San Diego, California.


texts: Confused on superseding causes and foreseeability

texts:
Let's say I went for a swim and got all wet. Then, I decided to buy something in a vending machine and I got electrified (due to a wiring issue) and it affected my health negatively.

Could I sue the owner of the vending machine under the doctrines of foreseeability or superseding cause?


texts: Age of consent for a person with dual citizenship

texts:
The age of consent law seems a bit unclear to me, and becomes very complex and mysterious when adding dual citizenship into the mix because finding information on that is difficult. I'm just wondering what the law is for the following specific scenario.

A 21+ male USA citizen has traveled to Poland. He has been in Poland for several years and decided to get his birthright Hungarian citizenship (his mother is Hungarian in origin, and became a USA citizen after moving to the USA).

He is then a dual citizen. Now for the age of consent part:

The age of consent is 16 years old in the US state he comes from
In Hungary the age of consent is 14 years old
In Poland the age of consent is 15 years old

While in Poland, can he engage in sexual activity with a 15 year old female?

If he travels to Hungary, can he engage in sexual activity with a 14 year old female?

Does he have to stick to females who are 16 years old or older no matter what country he is in?


texts:
Can the owner of a residence in San Francisco sublease during the 60 months following an owner-movein eviction?  The specific example I'm imagining would be if a single person purchased a 2 bedroom apartment, evicted two people who shared the apartment so this owner could live there, and then subleased the now-spare bedroom at market rate.

https://www.sftu.org/omi/

https://www.bornstein.law/2018-owner-move-in-evictions/

http://www.ownermovein.com/


texts: A person related to you by blood or marriage?

texts:
A medical power of attorney form specifies that witnesses to the execution of the power of attorney may not be related by blood or marriage.

Are sons in law and daughters in law included in that restriction?


texts: How does legal ownership work with second hand goods, e.g. sold on ebay / Facebook Marketplace?

texts:
This question applies in the UK but I'm also curious as to how it works generally in other countries.
If I go into a shop and buy, for example, a laptop I have a receipt which proves I paid for it and I become the legal owner of it once it is paid for in full. In this case at the point of sale.
After a few years let's say I advertise that laptop and sell it through something like Ebay or Facebook Marketplace.
My understanding is that the same principle applies: I've offered it for sale (as the shop had to me when I bought it, at a specified price) and the buyer has given me money for it. When I physically transfer the laptop to the buyer does this make them the legal owner of that item? Are there sections of UK Law that actually cover this?


texts: Can you go to the Supreme Court just to get a stay on a TRO?

texts:
Right now State of Washington v. Trump is, as I understand it, still a district-level case. Judge Robart issued a TRO against the order, and the DoJ appealed for a stay on the TRO. The district court has not yet gotten to the point of issuing a preliminary injunction.

So now that the 9th Circuit has denied the request for an emergency stay on the TRO, can they really take this to the Supreme Court just for the sake of an emergency stay?

Secondary question: say the answer is yes, and they do, and then the Supreme Court makes a decision. Doesn't it only affect the TRO? The district court can still go on to issue its final decision, and even if it's in line with SCOTUS as it must be, then surely the losing side can appeal that to the 9th circuit and then do we go back to SCOTUS a second time for the final ruling? Seems ridiculous.

How would this all work?


texts: Is creating a new GPS trace a derivative work while using GPS-based ADAS?

texts:
There is a database of precise GPS traces. A trace from this database can be used in an Advanced driver-assistance system to help keep the vehicle in its lane. The vehicle in question is driven by a human driver. Another precise GPS trace of vehicle's trajectory is recorded while using the original trace for ADAS - is the newly created GPS trace a derivative work of the original database or not?

The ADAS system is constantly monitoring vehicle's current position against the original GPS trace and may only issue a warning in case the vehicle should leave the path of the original GPS trace. The ADAS system by itself however is not able to intervene via vehicle steering and thus change the vehicle's path.

I am specifically interested in two cases - whether the above use case is a:

derivative work according to the US copyright law
derivative work in terms of the ODC Open Database License (ODbL)


texts: Does statute prescribe algorithm for calculating quorum?

texts:
Does Florida Condo Law FS718 or any relevant statute provide guidance as to how to determine the minimum number of Florida condo board directors must be present for a meeting if a 5 seat board has enough board members for a meeting?

Case 1: Assume all seats are filled

Case 2: Assume 4 of 5 seats are filled: one is vacant

Case 3: Assume case 2, however, only 3 directors are able to vote on a single agenda meeting as the fourth is in violation and ineligible to vote.  5th seat is vacant