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1500 questions
22
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2 answers
Is there a law in the UK that makes possession of specific publications illegal?
I just read the following in an article in The Guardian (emphasis mine):
In prison they met their co-defendant Rahman, 32, one of nine men prosecuted in connection with a plan to attack the London stock exchange, who was serving five years for…
terdon
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22
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Is there any legal mechanism for a citizen without resources, to be able to sue the state for infringing his/her constitutional rights?
Is there any legal mechanism for a citizen without resources, to be able to sue the state for infringing his/her constitutional rights? In Argentina for example, I know there is a "defensor del pueblo" at national and provincial level, but as far as…
Pablo
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22
votes
4 answers
Can you be prosecuted for not quitting a group chat where you are invited accidentally and you're aware of it?
Recently journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally invited into a Trump administration group chat. He shouldn't have been in there, and he ended up quitting the chat on his own.
Had he not quit and the admins only found out much later, would it…
Mango Linguine
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22
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5 answers
If someone falsely claims to have a Ph.D. on the jacket of a book and they profit from that claim, is that criminal fraud?
Say someone had started a Ph.D. but failed to complete, and wrote a book presenting themselves as an expert in their field, and claimed on the jacket to have a Ph.D.
The book sells many copies, and helps establish them as an expert in their field,…
AnonymousAcademic444
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22
votes
3 answers
What happens to "Bridge Bashers"?
In the UK, we have lots of bridges with limited head-room, often where 19th century railway lines pass over roads that were originally intended for horses.
Nowadays, modern large goods vehicles cannot use these routes, but people try, causing a…
Peter Bill
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22
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2 answers
If a friend hands me a marijuana edible then dies of a heart attack am I guilty of felony murder?
The title is sort of asks the full question, but to elaborate.
Presume I've previously been arrested for marijuana possession, in which case my possession of the marijuana would constitute a felony.
Since my friend gave me the marijuana he would be…
dsollen
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22
votes
2 answers
Can I continue using technology after it is patented
Let’s say I use a very specific software communication technique applied in a novel way that could be patented. I don’t patent this invention because I am a startup that has little money to invest in an unproven application.
A few months/years later…
Josh
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22
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1 answer
If Trump pardons himself regarding the federal crime he tried to hide by cooking the books, is the New York conviction void?
[Note that Jen in their answer corrects quite a few of the premises of my question; read it. I let the question otherwise stand as-is.]
Falsifying business records in New York is only a felony if it was done in order to hide a felony. That's the…
Peter - Reinstate Monica
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22
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3 answers
Enforce contract on burglars
Lets say I post a sign outside my house reading "if you break into this house, you agree to paying the owner a one million dollars access fee". This would be similar to how parking lots post their fees, which one is assumed to having accepted by…
Jony
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21
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1 answer
Can a virus scanner be sued by the makers of a program they label as spyware for recommending its removal?
Ages ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in college, I went to a recruiting event for a company that collected and sold statistical data. They explained that they got the information by installing programs on people's computer 'in…
dsollen
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21
votes
2 answers
In the UK, can residents leave their gate open taking pavement space?
I walk my kids to school and pick them up, on my way, there is a house that -most of the time- keeps both of their gate doors open across the pavement perpendicular to their house, taking around 80% of the pavement in front of their house.
Is this…
Mocas
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21
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7 answers
Why are jurors still asked to apply the law if their primary role is to find facts?
Why do juries get asked whether the defendant is guilty or not instead of simply whether certain alleged facts took place?
Say Rob is being tried for the murder of Bob, but there's also a possibility of manslaughter.
Within the existing system, the…
Greendrake
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21
votes
3 answers
Is it legal to bill a company that made contact for a business proposal, then withdrew based on their policies that existed when they made contact?
Based on a Twitter thread from a mid sized YouTube personality:
I have been emailed MORE THAN 10 TIMES by a service I'd like to be sponsored with that I will not name
Every time they email me, I say I'd love to work with them, then the middle men…
Nzall
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21
votes
4 answers
Is there liablility if Alice startles Bob and Bob damages something?
The other day I saw a random clip on YouTube, where Alice sneaks up to Bob, who is vacuuming, and scares Bob. Bob gets startled and swings the vacuum into (Bob's own) expensive television, breaking the TV in the process.
It got me thinking if Alice…
infinitezero
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21
votes
6 answers
Are legislators ever asked to explain their intent in Supreme Court cases?
I recently started to listen to recordings of arguments before the Supreme Court. I am not a lawyer so I don't completely follow everything, but I noticed right away that a lot of arguments deal with the intent of this or that law.
Given that this…
guero64
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