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1500 questions
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What happens if someone requests asylum in Vatican City?
Suppose someone were to enter Vatican City and request asylum. Vatican City is a highly unusual country and I’m not sure what would happen. Are they a party to any treaties that would require them to process the claim? If so, how would this be…
templatetypedef
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Is it legal for a bank to trap you in an ATM vestibule?
In an episode of Friends, Chandler is in an ATM vestibule when a power blackout happens. The door to the vestibule automatically locks and he (and a supermodel) are trapped inside until the power comes on. Is this legal? There is this related…
B. Goddard
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Finding the license for a widely-used photograph
I'm writing a blog post related to the C programming language, and would like to illustrate it with this iconic photograph of Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie in front of a DEC PDP-11, but only if doing so is legal.
The above link is the closest I…
rwallace
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Does discrimination law apply to prostitutes?
Bob is a male prostitute who only services female clients. Charles is a homosexual male who would like to solicit his services, but Bob being straight and so finding this proposition unenticing, refuses. Has Bob unlawfully discriminated against…
TylerDurden
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Legal Rule that computers are presumed to be operating correctly
I was reading the following academic paper. At the very beginning, it mentions that under the Law in England & Wales, a computer is presumed to be operating correctly.
This is the line I am interested in:
"In England and Wales, courts consider…
user5623335
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Extent to which a will is holographic
"Albus" and "Severus" are making a will together. They do not want to bother with an attorney or witnesses, so Severus handwrites it, under the assumption that doing so will make the will holographic. They both sign the will. After Albus dies, there…
In Hoc Signo
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Would a user of the Stack Exchange API be liable for re-publishing copyright infringing data?
Data obtained from the Stack Exchange API is cc-wiki licensed.
This license explicitly encourages the user of the API to copy, redistribute, remix and transform the data obtained from the API for any purpose, provided that appropriate credit is…
kranzky
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Has anyone been prosecuted in the US because a minor consumed alcohol for religious purposes?
Has anyone been prosecuted because a minor drank alcohol for religious purposes, such as sacramental wine used for the Eucharist/Communion in some Christian denominations? This could be either the minor being prosecuted for illegally consuming…
Someone
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Is creating the possibility for an illegal outcome already illegal?
A contrived example:
You connect the fuse of a bomb to a 50/50 randomizer and take it for a walk across some public place.
You get lucky with the randomizer and the bomb doesn't go off.
Can you still be legally charged?
I understand that…
ChrisB
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What does the "(U)" prefixed to each paragraph denote in reports by the US Senate Select Committees?
To illustrate, here's a screenshot from page 52 of the "Postwar findings about Iraq’s WMD programs and links to terrorism and how they compare with prewar assessment", with the text transcribed here:
(U) Conclusion 1: Postwar findings do not…
Pound Hash
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Why does Art. 103 of the German Basic Law forbid a second trial after an acquittal?
The German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgerichts) recently ruled that a second trial (due to new evidence) after a previous acquittal violates the German constitution:
BVerfG urteilt zur umstrittenen Wiederaufnahme-Vorschrift -…
sleske
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Seeking Presidential Immunity
ABC News reports that former President Trump is seeking to invoke "presidential" immunity in the lawsuit regarding: E. Jean Carroll's 2019 damage claims.
In statements Trump made denying the accusation, Trump said Carroll was "not my type" and…
gatorback
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Civil liability for criminal punishment
Eve, as a practical joke, asks Mark to go to a place she describes as a “public park” to fetch a hat she had supposedly left behind. Unbeknownst to Mark (but beknownst to Eve) the area is actually an unmarked Wild Turtle preserve. A law criminalises…
Sneftel
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Trespass against easements?
Say someone has an easement across my land to access their property.
They have an easement, so I am not allowed to interfere with their use of my land. I can't stand there and block their way.
If two hundred other people come into my land to stop…
interfect
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What is the purpose of a settlement agreement including a clause that it was signed, "voluntarily and without any duress whatsoever?"
If a settlement agreement includes a clause that it was signed, "voluntarily and without any duress whatsoever":
If a person signing the settlement agreement done so voluntarily and without any duress whatsoever, I cannot see a reason they would…
Eliott
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