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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Are restrictions on the supply of alcohol effective at limiting the harm caused by or even the amount of alcohol consumed?
Different countries choose radically different ways to regulate peoples' access to alcohol. Some countries and some US states impose a state monopoly on alcohol sale ; others restrict the hours or days when alcohol is available for sale (see…
matt_black
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Has anyone been charged with defacing money?
In many countries it is illegal to deface or destroy money, but has this law ever been enforced? (note: I'm not asking about counterfeiting)
Have there been any notable cases of people being charged or jailed in the past 50 years?
One thing that…
going
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Are North Koreans banned from laughing for 11 days?
This article states that North Koreans face similar consequences of the leader's death anniversary as in previous years, now being banned from laughing for 11 days. Is the regime so authoritarian that it would make this rule and strictly enforce…
toddddos
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Is the penalty for a woman having an abortion more severe than the penalty for rape?
On social media there are a lot of posts fuelled by the recent restrictions on abortion in Alabama and Missouri.
Some of these (the first is from Instagram and the second is from Twitter, although I saw it on Instagram) claim that “the penalty for…
Tim
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Until 2016, did Germany require rape victims to physically resist their attackers?
From The Independent Germany to tighten rape laws in wake of Cologne attacks, but a search for Google News of "rape Germany laws" also gives matches for The Daily Mail, and Russia Today:
Currently, victims must prove they resisted physically and…
Andrew Grimm
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Is there a coffee shop called "Dumb Starbucks"?
This claim originated on 89.3 KPCC.
Is there really a "Dumb Starbucks" shop in existence? And, is what they're doing legal under "Parody Law"?
Evan Carroll
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Is Julian Assange "facing charges"?
Wikileaks' twitter account states that Julian Assange doesn't face charges (as well as not being charged with anything)
UK Foreign Minister falsely states Julian #Assange faces "charges",
despite him not being charged with any crime
…
Andrew Grimm
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Are Pennsylvania motorists required to hide their cars from horses?
News sources, blogs, email chains, and periodicals publish lists of "stupid laws", which are supposedly still on the books. One particularly amusing one:
Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well off the road, cover…
Frank
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In the USSR's legal system, was everything illegal unless specifically allowed?
Alan Dershowitz was recently interviewed by Michael Tracey on the latter's podcast. At 09:20 into the interview, Dershowitz makes the following claim regarding the USSR legal system:
... unlike in the Soviet Union, where everything you did was [a]…
einpoklum
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Did a homeowner fend-off three armed intruders with a high capacity magazine?
A recent NBC News article,
Judge blocks California's ban on high-capacity magazines over 2nd Amendment concerns claims the judge wrote an 86 page decision that included a story that a woman fended-off three armed home intruders using a firearm and…
John
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Did an unmarried couple in Iran get shot for holding hands in 2007?
In this video from 2007 Douglas Murray, a British journalist and critic of Islam, says:
In Iran, when people - when a couple were shot the other week for
holding hands when not being married, the courts congratulated them.
The online search I…
Zebrafish
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Am I owed a refund of "between $45 and $70" for buying milk in California in the last 14 years?
ABC's 10 News San Diego claims that, as a result of a class-action lawsuit, I'm eligible for a refund of "between $45 and $70" for a class action lawsuit over milk purchases.
They recommend that I go to this website to register for payout. However,…
user13259
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Could you drive a tank through London and not have to pay the congestion fee?
In the following video Ross Noble tells an interviewer that you can drive a tank on UK roads and also that it is congestion fee exempt. If we ignore for a moment the practical issue of driving a tank through London is this actually true, is it…
Neil Meyer
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If you have half of a Canadian $20 bill, is it worth $10?
I recently saw this tweet by What The F*** Facts:
In Canada, if you have half of a $20 bill, it is worth $10.
Is there any truth to this claim?
George Chalhoub
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Is the trending Facebook "privacy notice" necessary and/or effective?
This facebook post has gone viral among my friends
PRIVACY NOTICE: Warning - any person and/or institution and/or Agent
and/or Agency of any governmental structure including but not limited
to the United States Federal Government also using or…
Binary Worrier
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