Use this tag for claims about the law. This must be almost always be accompanied by a country tag, such as [united-states] to clarify which country's laws the claim is about.
Questions tagged [law]
278 questions
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Did Donald Trump erect a flag on a man-made hill to skirt the law?
A post on Facebook reads (emphasis added)
When Trump purchased and rebuilt Mar-A-Lago the Grand mansion and estate In Palm beach, Florida he got into a dispute with the city, who are well known for being strict on zoning regulations. Trump put up…
Flimzy
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Does saying "off the record" allow lawyers to make admissions without legal ramifications?
When I'm watching a show like "Law & Order", I'm always curious if the following scenario is reality or just a handy plot device of television and fiction :
A discussion plays out between the police (or district attorney) with the accused. During…
LaloInDublin
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Is it illegal in any U.S. jurisdiction to be in neutral at a red light?
In this related question, I asserted that it was illegal to be in neutral gear while stopped at a red light. The first comment to that question challenged me to quote chapter and verse.
Astonishingly, I may have been taken in by popular rumor. There…
KeithS
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Did Puritans punish people for celebrating Christmas?
The Facebook group Americans for the Separation of Church and State posted this link:
Puritans in Massachusetts arrested and fined anyone who celebrated Christmas. But go ahead, tell us how awful it was when that store clerk told you "Happy…
Larian LeQuella
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Was this image used in an anti-rape advertising campaign?
I saw an "advertisement" make the rounds on Facebook, which reads:
Jake was drunk. Josie was drunk. Jake and Josie hooked up. Josie could
NOT consent. The next day Jake was charged with RAPE.
A woman who is intoxicated cannot give her legal…
quant
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Does legalizing prostitution decrease sexual violence against all women?
In the debate about legalizing prostitution, yes or no, one claim is the legalization will decrease sexual violence against all women.
For example from answers of pros in the link provided:
"It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in…
Persian Cat
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Was the 16th Amendment (income tax) improperly ratified?
Bill Benson released The Law that Never Was in 1985, which "claims that the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, commonly known as the income tax amendment, was never properly ratified."1 At least several have gone to jail for…
Wolf
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Will a proposed Canadian law allow minors to be euthanized without parental consent?
As reported on FoxNews. This immediately triggers my skepticism since it seems pretty extreme.
From the link above:
Creighton School of Medicine professor Charles Camosy joined 'Tucker
Carlson Tonight' to discuss a new Canadian law that would…
Tony Ennis
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Did Facebook claim its fact-checks are legally "just opinions"?
Multiple websites and media say:
Facebook claims its 'fact-check' are just protected opinions, according to Facebook's legal team.
However, I have not found any official Facebook sources for this claim. Has Facebook's legal team said something…
High GPA
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How often do law enforcement authorities commandeer civilian transportation?
You've seen the movies: the cop-action-hero's car blows up and he is forced to bust out his gun and his badge and commandeer a civilian's vehicle for transportation. How often does this actually happen? Is it actually even legal in the United…
Naftuli Kay
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Do Republican legislatures tend to relax gun laws after mass shootings?
The Economist says the following in an article on recent mass shootings in the USA which discusses the evidence that restrictions on gun ownership reduce deaths:
...a mass shooting leads to a 75% rise in measures easing gun control in states with…
matt_black
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Are some software programs "illegal" in Germany?
A German article in PC Welt (PC World) claims to list a number of "illegal hacker tools".
The list includes:
Network Sniffers
Aircrack-ng, Wireshark
Copy-Protection Circumvention Tools
AnyDVD, DVD Shrink, Vista Loader
Password Recovery…
codepleb
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Does a customer have the legal right to receive change in whatever denomination they want if the cashier can cover it?
I am a cashier at a gas station in California and I recently had a customer put me in this situation. They prepaid for $50 in gas with a fifty dollar bill and filled their car. They had $19 in change. When the customer came in for their change, I…
Ed Peterson
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Does a Michigan law make it a felony to purposefully use the wrong gender pronouns?
Recently Fox News claimed that Michigan House passed a bill that:
[...] could make it a felony to intimidate someone by intentionally using the wrong gender pronouns, according to some legal experts.
Under the new bill, offenders are "guilty of a…
Sylvia
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Did Dubai sentence someone to four years in jail for possession of three poppy seeds from a bread roll?
The BBC and various other news sites make variations of the following claim:
Previously, a Swiss man was jailed for possessing just three poppy
seeds which he had transported with him to Dubai.
They were in his possession after he had eaten at…
lambshaanxy
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