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1500 questions
23
votes
7 answers
Is a private third party allowed to take things to court?
Say that Viola the Victim and Percy the Perpetrator have a dispute, but don't want to go to court. However, William witnesses everything and wants to take Percy to court over what he did. Can William reasonably do this?
In the extreme case where the…
chausies
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What is the purpose of being tried by a "jury of your peers"?
If you are facing criminal charges (in the United States), there is a person in the court (the judge) who is an expert in law, has extensive experience, and is (at least theoretically) impartial. And instead of having that person decide the case, it…
SegNerd
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22
votes
1 answer
Is it legal to intentionally wait before filing a copyright lawsuit to maximize profits?
Let's say someone uses my intellectual property without my consent and uses it for commercial purposes. Can I wait until they've made many millions of dollars off of my work, so that I can sue and take a large portion of or all of that money? This…
Some Guy
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22
votes
3 answers
Is customer entitled to the same car tested in the test drive or in the ad?
I know someone who went to purchase a brand new car from a dealer in the US. The customer came in with an internet ad and asked to test drive the car listed. After the test drive, she paid for it. But when she returned outside, and got in the new…
Village
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22
votes
4 answers
Why is Star Wars a copyright issue but a MLB team is not?
Over the weekend, I was asked to be part of a photo shoot for a political candidate. I was wearing a t-shirt that featured a Star Wars character and the photographer stated that he wanted to position me in a fashion so it wasn't visible to avoid a,…
Pyrotechnical
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22
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3 answers
What remedies can a witness use to satisfy the "all the truth" portion of their oath?
Hypothetical:
A witness took an oath to tell the whole truth. The adversarial cross-examiner abruptly cuts off the witness's testimony in the middle of a statement, leaving the train of thought incomplete and possibly leading to a misunderstanding…
Mindwin Remember Monica
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22
votes
6 answers
What's stopping someone from saying "I don't remember"?
There are (at least) two problems possibly stemming from a person testifying in court:
If they tell the truth, the testimony may have negative consequences they potentially don't like (which is the whole point of 5th Amendment, when the testimony…
user0306
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22
votes
7 answers
Are there any laws against either excessively loud motorcycles or riding such motorcycles inconsiderately in residential areas at night?
Loud disturbing motorcycles are awful but occasionally circle around certain roads after midnight up and down gratuitously if the objective is actually transportation. One would hope that there are laws on the books restricting the legality of such…
TylerDurden
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22
votes
2 answers
How to transport a knife that falls under the Weapons Act
In Germany, there is a law (Weapons Act) that prohibits the carrying of a knife with a blade length of 12 cm. "Fixed knives with a blade length of more than 12 centimetres, any knives classified as cutting and thrusting weapons and folding knives…
Maik Lowrey
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22
votes
2 answers
Why was nine-pin bowling illegal in most states, unlike ten-pin bowling?
In the 1800s, ten-pin bowling was invented as a way to circumvent the ban on nine-pin bowling that was placed by all states except Texas. However, ten-pin bowling was not banned by any state. I don't see any difference in the two sports other than…
mathlander
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22
votes
2 answers
What is the state of intellectual property when the owner goes bankrupt?
A company makes a great game called "AwesomeGame" that costs 20€.
They sell thousands of copies of the game, but ultimately go bankrupt.
What is the status of the game at that point? Do any intellection-property rights or protections of it still…
Fortune
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22
votes
3 answers
Why don't courts punish time-wasting tactics?
Inspired by the lawsuit filed amidst an ongoing controversy in the chess world. In brief, one player (Carlsen) accused another (Niemann) of cheating, and Niemann filed a defamation lawsuit against Carlsen + two other defendants (Chess.com &…
Allure
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22
votes
7 answers
When does silence imply consent?
Does the saying qui tacet consentire videtur (silence implies consent) carry any weight in civil litigation?
For example, suppose that Alice emails Bob, "When I began work we agreed that the rate was $100/hour." Another email from Alice to Bob…
feetwet
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22
votes
3 answers
In a state with the common law definition of theft, can you force a store to take cash by "pretending" to steal?
If I understand correctly, (a) under common law, theft requires an intent to permanently deprive the owner, and (b) legal tender only applies to debts, not purchases. B is the reason why stores do not have to accept cash. However, if I take goods…
Someone
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22
votes
2 answers
Other use of profile photos: legality fair-use and permissions
I'm building an app that works across mobile devices and browsers. There is a chat component and I will be showing the profile photos that I find on the user's phone book (not from the image folders). To make these images visible on the web if the…
Sunil Gupta
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