Questions tagged [united-states]
For questions specific to the United States as a whole, or that span multiple state jurisdictions. If your question is related to a specific state then you should use that state's tag instead (or as well).
7,949
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How did the USA justify its war against Vietnam by way of International Law?
According to Shaws book on International Law:
The Soviet Union made considerable use of legal arguments in its efforts to establish its non-liability to contribute towards the peace-keeping ...
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144
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Treason vs being an enemy combatant
What distinguishes a civilian charge of treason versus being an enemy combatant? Richard J. Leon ruled:
"Enemy combatant" shall mean an individual who was part of or supporting Taliban or ...
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1
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Would it be interstate fraud for a company to advertise a brand-new 1957 car?
A company advertises a brand-new 1957 car. They claim to have several in stock and will ship it right away. They know they don't have those cars and cant get them because they don't exist and never ...
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What rights and remedies does the buyer have under the following circumstances of a failed contract?
A buyer offered X for a building, which was accepted by the seller. The building had a mortgage, Y, which was greater than X. The terms of the purchase contract called for the building to be delivered ...
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I submitted bad data to my (now-former) employer which ended up in court [closed]
Location: Michigan, US
Since January I've worked at a nonprofit organization that I've loved my entire life. My whole family is very supportive of this org. By taking this job, I was fulfilling not ...
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how common are federal misdemeanor charges?
According to https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/hollywood-man-arrested-on-federal-charge-after-his-drone-crashed-with-an-lapd-helicopter/2466525/ a man was recently arrested on a federal ...
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Why does the monetary fine portion of a law seem so much less severe than the prison time? [duplicate]
I have over time seen many US laws where the text reads a penalty of $1000 or 1 year imprisonment. The latest one I’ve seen was on my Twitter feed:
But I’ve seen many like this over the years. Is ...
6
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2
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584
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If Trump's legal challenges to the 2020 elections are so bad, why haven't the courts ruled them as frivolous?
(Not sure if this should be on the Law.SE)
Per title. Most of the news coverage I've seen have said the challenges are bad, such as this recent one on the result of a challenge in Pennsylvania.
"...
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3
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371
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What would prevent a US judge from condeming someone to slavery according to the 13th amendment?
Let us assume that a particularly perverted judge (or a subversive one seeking to make a public case) condemns a convicted criminal to slavery, according to the 13th amendment that seems to allow for ...
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Does torture violate the US Federal Constitution, and if so under which theory?
We all know about the tortures that took place at Abu Ghraib prison.
However, Justice Scalia explains to us that torture does not offend the US Federal Constitution.
As Justice Scalia explained to us, ...
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5
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Can I be subjected to physical punishment by the police in the US as long as it is outside criminal proceeding?
In Ingraham v. Wright, the US Federal Supreme Court ruled that it had "limited the application of the Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual language to criminal punishment".
Can I be ...
5
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1
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221
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In 1940 Ireland, can a woman marry a divorcee from the USA?
My questions arise from a (possible) scenario in Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, published in 1939, and hence pertain to Irish and US divorce law around or before 1939.
I understand that at this time ...
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5
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Is there an implied consent to a frisk in a stop in the US?
This question regards US law, and the Fourth Amendment to the US Federal Constitution.
Suppose I am walking on the sidewalk, when a police officer stops me.
He then says the following: "I will ...
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3
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How will the "stop and identify" statute work in New Hampshire in this particular hypothetical?
I asked this question before but it was closed. So I will try to be here more specific.
I have read the stop and identify statutes wikipedia page. In this page there is written that:
In 12 states (...
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How does "stop and identify statutes" work in the US? [duplicate]
I was watching this video. The video is pretty long, but basically it is alleged that a guy keeps harrassing a men that is eating in a restaurant (calling him repeatedly, etc.). The man calls the ...
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5
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Is there any limit to the rate at which court cases can be filed?
Is there a limit to the rate at which a person can file court cases? What if someone purposefully tries to file a court case every minute to disrupt the court? Can that person be punished in India or ...
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On what basis might higher courts refuse to hear Trump’s appeals
Trump’s federal case was dismissed with what looks like a very clear ruling https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2020/11/Order-Granting-MTD.pdf . He will undoubtedly appeal, ...
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Is there any precedent of what would happen to state law if a state ceased to exist?
Say a contract is specified to arbitrated by the law of the state of Virginia (or whatever).
Then, WW3 happens and entire jurisdictions, state and countries cease to exist including Virginia.
Is there ...
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How can a person sue oneself?
Either in USA California or in India (choose whichever you like) can a person sue oneself back for damages? Has anyone ever defamed themselves and then sued themselves for defamation?
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363
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Can people of California amend laws?
In the US state of California, if someone feels an existing law gives excessive punishments or is unconstitutional, what can they do?
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102
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Can you hire attorney to obtain birth certificate for your child if you are out of country?
Consider a situation where non-US citizen parents (say Indian parents) have a child in US thus child is US citizen by birth. They obtain birth certificate and passport for the child and go back to ...
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Does the vimium Chrome extension infringe on this patent?
So I saw this really cool google plugin called vimium, it allows users to press a mod key ("f") and then easily access any hyperlinks that are present on the current page by providing ...
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What happens if the cabinet does not want to trigger the 25th amendment even though the President is in a coma?
This is a hypothetical. Let's say Trump's cabinet has not resigned yet. Joe Biden is sworn in and, overwhelmed by the emotions, he has a stroke and can't move or speak, or he is in a coma, but he is ...
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Can Native Americans vote in national elections if they live on a reservation?
Native American reservations are not states, and - unlike Washington, D.C. - weren’t given any representation by a Constitutional amendment. So Native Americans who belong to a tribe and live on a ...
2
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Can a minor make a contract?
Some Policy requires all individuals with System X™ access to be contractually obliged not to press the Big Red Button.
X Corp only grants System X™ authorisation to people who bound by The Contract; ...
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3
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Timing of the death of a president-elect
Section 3 of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States begins with this:
If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, ...
26
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1
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Is a lawyer allowed to "rescue" his witness on redirect, and if so, when?
A lawyer puts up an expert witness to testify on a technical matter. The opposition leads him through several questions on "cross," and then concludes with, "So it is possible that X ...
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Could a lawyer give me advice on improving a contract I wrote without opening themselves up to liability?
I have a contract which was freely provided online by a lawyer familiar with a rather specialized field of law that I like, but there was one important circumstance that I wish it spelled out clearly. ...
2
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1
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141
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Has the fugitive slave clause of the US constitution been used since passage of the 13th Amendment?
The Wikipedia article on the 'Fugitive Slave Clause' of the US constitution (Art. IV § 2(3)) says (emphasis added):
The passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which ...
4
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Can Biden force the presidential transition to start?
A number of news sources have reported that Emily Murphy of the General Services Administration has failed to sign the document that triggers the presidential transition process.
Can the Biden team ...
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2
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Is it legal to hack a hacker back (in the US)?
I was wondering if it's legal to do what most people call a "hack back." Suppose someone tricked you into downloading software onto your computer that was designed to steal your data, but it ...
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1
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Inherited house and principal residence exclusion for capital gains on IRS Form 104
I'm the personal representative of an estate in Massachusetts. A home in probate was recently sold and the estate received a 1099-S. There are about $50,000 in capital gains from the sale. I lived ...
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3
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Are there "eggshell skull" issues involved in lawyering?
There are probably numerous examples, but this is the one I am most familiar with.
You are pursuing a lawsuit in which the defendant is 300 pounds, and shows other signs of being prone to a heart ...
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3
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How do executives pay themselves $1 per year without running afoul of minimum wage laws?
Many executives, especially chief executives, receive nearly all of their compensation in stock. Both for public perception, and for tax reasons, Elon Musk, Eric Schmidt, Jack Dorsey, Larry Page, Mark ...
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How can US lawyers deal with the difference in the laws of at least 62 US jurisdictions?
US has 50 states, 12 Federal Circuits (11 is DC Circuit, 12 is the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals that has a nationwide jurisdiction over very specific issues such as patents. This totals at least ...
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3
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435
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Why can't self-represented litigants use "I" to refer to myself?
How can this be true for even pro se litigants in court? Why can't they use Singular First Person Pronouns in their pleadings, when they are alleging causes of action to them personally? How must they ...
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What is the legal basis for Washington State's ban on private indoor gatherings?
Washington State's governor announced indoor gatherings are prohibited. On what legal basis could they be enforced in private settings (such as people in their own homes)?
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3
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Is the United States federal income tax an indirect tax under the 5th amendment?
I'm no American citizen, so I don't know that much about all the ins and outs of the Constitution. I've been watching a movie where one of the characters called the federal income tax "...
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Is it legal for a firm to time their announcements based on the stock sale times indicated in the pre-established 10b5-1 plan?
I understand that SEC Rule 10b5-1 aims at reducing insider trading by having major shareholders and insiders of exchange-listed corporations trade a predetermined number of shares at a predetermined ...
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Consumer protection laws regarding products never delivering promised features
Note: this is not about any specific product, but a general pattern that I've observed.
It's alarmingly common, especially with tech-related products, to over-promise and under-deliver. Consumers buy ...
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2
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132
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How can the following conflict of interest situation be dealt with?
A, an individual, sues a large corporation, X. The action is acrimonious and goes on for several years.
A junior associate at A's law firm leaves the firm and goes to work for the law department of ...
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2
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Can Congress restrict which individuals are eligible to serve as federal judges?
Federal judges in the United States are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The constitution does not impose any restrictions on who may be appointed and confirmed as ...
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2
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108
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What determines how thoroughly affidavits must be vetted by lawyers?
In Trump's lawsuit in Arizona:
A Trump campaign attorney conceded in court on Thursday morning that he tried to enter hundreds of dodgy form-filed affidavits into evidence, even though their own ...
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3
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Can cloud services providers be asked to turn over data from foreign countries?
Can cloud providers be asked to provide data from other countries to the government/law enforcement for security purposes? Can Amazon be asked to provide data from non-US countries for any security ...
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Does it count as false advertisement if a company knowingly lies about third party shipping time?
I live in Washington. I ordered a replacement part for my dishwasher from a company based out of Florida. When I selected the product on their website and entered my zipcode, I was told that it would ...
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Who would have won the 2020 election if "did not vote" was a candidate [closed]
This infographic was posted in 2016:
The image takes the assumption that all eligible voters (registered or not) in the US who did not vote instead voted for a hypothetical "did not vote" ...
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1
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What specific charges is the US Justice Department accusing Google/Alphabet of?
The US Justice Department sued Google/Alphabet on the 20th Oct of this year in an anti-trust lawsuit, alleging that the corporation was illegally using its market muscle to hobble competition. Other ...
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Fiction featuring illegal elements
I am working on a work of (historical) fiction, where an important element for plot and audience experience is a sexual encounter with an underaged person. I plan to publish this work worldwide, but ...
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1
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Can I legally repost a news article on another website (e.g. Stack Exchange)?
I would like to share a news article on an SE site, in its entirety if possible. I recently included in a post a news article from a university site (U.S. university) with its original title, proper ...
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Is it legal to work two full-time, salaried, software engineering jobs at the same time?
I have two offers from two companies, both for salaried, 9-5, remote, full-time, software engineering jobs. I am skilled at my trade and can easily handle the expected work load of both jobs at once. ...