Questions tagged [us-federal-government]
For questions regarding the United States federal government. For questions about US federal law, use [united-states] instead.
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If Emoluments violations are tied to the governmental institution, do they go away when the violator leaves the government?
My question on Politics.SE around the recent DC Appeals Court dismissal of emoluments charges against the president on procedural grounds brought on a discussion better suited to here:
If an ...
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Is there US law that can compel Apple to create software?
It is my understanding that US law has jurisdiction or routinely compels corporations (BA, VZN) to:
turn over customer data to law enforcement(VZN)
how to build systems (in regulated products: BA ...
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What body is the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accountable to for aviation security functions?
The United States House Transportation Subcommittee includes:
transportation safety (except automobile safety and transportation security functions of the Department of Homeland Security)
Which ...
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Is the federal charge for illegal possession of a firearm considered a "violent" crime or a crime of violence?
Per 18 U.S. Code § 922 (D)(3) and (G)(3) it is illegal to sell or buy a firearm to/as someone who is "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance." This includes cannabis, even though ...
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Can an individual be forced to wear a shirt when driving on federal grounds?
I have a friend who regularly drives without a shirt on during summer since he refuses to turn on his AC if he can avoid it. He works on a military base, and as such has to pass a security point ...
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Can State/City bar US Federal LEO from certain locations?
The Official Website of the City of New York claims:
Federal enforcement officers, which includes ICE, cannot enter hospitals, schools, or shelters.
What exactly does this mean?
E.g., suppose an ...
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Is the vice-president an employee for the purpose of 5 CFR §2635.502?
It's been suggested on politcs.SE (but the question was closed as off-topic there) that a US vice-president needs to comply with 5 CFR §2635.502 which sets stricter standards for conflicts of interest ...
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Is a corrupt Attorney General able to quash any and all Federal investgations?
(I'll try to ask this in as non-biased way as possible)
If an Attorney General is part of a corrupt administration, would he or she be able to quash any and all Federal investigations related to that ...
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US regulations on launch-to-orbit provider refusing to launch a competitor's payload? Do common carrier concepts apply?
Here is an example scenario:
Teslarati's SpaceX president teases Starship’s game-changing Starlink launch capabilities provides several links, including CNBC's article and discusses the difficulty of ...
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Does US federal law prohibit the possession of an uncontrolled prescription drug without a prescription, and if so, according to which provision?
What specific provision in US federal law, if any, prohibits the possession of an uncontrolled prescription drug without a prescription? I've had a lot of trouble finding the answer to this question, ...
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Personal Reports We Are Entitled to BY LAW (Other than Credit Reports from Experian, Equifax, Transunion)
Are there personal reports US citizens are BY LAW, entitled to other than credit reports from Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
For instance, I could have sworn I saw a government website on MIB, i....
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In the US has anyone ever been prosecuted on the state/federal level after being pardoned on the other level?
As I understand it, assuming that an individual's actions violated both state and federal laws, there is nothing legally preventing a state for prosecuting an individual for the crime after the ...
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What law grants life tenure to federal judges in the US?
In the United States, what law grants life tenure to federal judges? The Good Behaviour Clause of the Constitution says:
The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their
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How many presidents have sued others?
How many presidents have sued people, corporations, banks, for defamation, for libel, etc. (for any reason at all).
NOT how many have been sued... The other way around.
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Why was the decision to make a non-traditional prosecutorial judgement unclear at the start of the 2017 Special Counsel Investigation?
Background
One comment on this question about Robert Mueller's 2017 Special Counsel Investigation inquired about a specific aspect of the investigation. This aspect related to the prosecutorial ...
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USPS Back Room - Trespassing?
I go to my local post office nearly every day to drop off packages for online purchases. A couple of years ago, I had a van full and it would have taken many trips to bring them inside. I asked a ...
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If someone was charged with 15 counts but was only indicted on 2, can the prosecutor introduce evidence at sentencing of charges that we not indicted?
I just have a question about information being presented that a defendant was not indicted on. If someone was charged with 15 counts of a crime but was only indicted on 2 counts, can the prosecutor ...
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If we were to setup a cannabis store online hosted in Colorado (or any other state), can we legally serve California?
My main question is that since cannabis is still prohibited federally, would be illegal for cannabis sales data and payment processing to cross state lines?
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Why can't Robert Mueller give the report to congress?
With the recent vote to hold William Barr in contempt of congress, I have one main question. Why can't Robert Mueller just give the report to congress? It's obvious that I don't understand the full ...
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Arrest for civil violation in the US?
Immigration officers in the US can arrest people who have violated immigration law, even if the violation is not criminal (8 USC 1357(a)(2), 8 CFR 287.5(c)(1)). Are there other examples of civil ...
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What laws are being broken by publishing a non-redacted version of the Muller Report?
What laws might be broken if someone created a non-redacted version of the Muller Report?
That is, suppose they wrote a version of the redacted portions and claimed they have no idea if it's the ...
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Can a US cabinet secretary be criminally liable for a misapplication of federal law?
I am a bit surprised that this hasn't been asked yet, but it seems indeed that it has not.
A few days ago, CNN reported:
President Donald Trump told Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin ...
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When a company sues the "U.S.", who are they really suing?
According to this Wall Street Journal report, Huawei is suing the "U.S.".
What does this really mean?
Are they suing the entire U.S. government, a branch of the U.S. government, the people of the U....
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Can someone be penalized for an "unlawful" act if no penalty is specified?
If a US federal statute specifies that an act is unlawful without specifying a penalty, without using any of the words "misdemeanor," "felony," or "crime," and without ...
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what is "just compensation" during eminent domain?
The United States government uses eminent domain to seize private land for public use in exchange for "just compensation", but would the landowner be compensation for the structures on the land being ...
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What percentage of a Qui Tam is recovered?
In the case of a Qui Tam filing with the United States attorneys office what percentage of the recovered damages go to the person that filed with the office?
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What is law of the case in the us federal court system for district court judges?
Someone recently brought up the apple fbi phone unlock case and I, not being a lawyer, got curious about whether, if a final decision had been reached by that judge, what exactly that would mean. That ...
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Would it be legal for a US State to ban exports of a natural resource?
I am interested in whether a US state constitution could be legally amended to ban exports of specific natural resources (such as coal, lithium or copper) outside it's own state borders.
If such a ...
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Is the U.S. Code copyrighted by the Government?
The age of the internet has brought all of human knowledge to our figure tips, this is only possible because of companies finding profitable reasons for storing all of this information for ...
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Title 53, why is it reserved?
Title 53 is currently 1 of 54 titles that make up the United States Code, each title is marked with the topic of law it contains, but Title 53 is marked as reserved.
The listing of Title goes:
Title ...
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What happens if an individual exceeds the maximum to be donated to a presidential candidate?
For 2020, the maximum donation is $2800. What trouble will someone be in if they break that rule, either on accident or purposely?
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Criminal Liability for judges under 42 USC 290-dd2(f) and 42 CFR 2.63 [Confidentiality of Substance Abuse Patient Records]
42 USC 290-dd2 establishes heightened confidentiality requirements for certain (really most) substance abuse treatment records. The statute grants authority to HHS to interpret the law and create ...
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Can a Federal Actor, through coercion, or by the omission of information, force a U.S. citizen to waive a state-given Constitutional right?
Can a Federal Actor, through the use of coercion, or by the omission of information, force a U.S. citizen to waive a state-given Constitutional right?
Specifically: On the date of March 19, 2010, an ...
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Who actually enforces the bill of rights
The US bill of rights was constructed to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public ...
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What principal of law allows the US federal government to demand that people work without pay?
Certain US federal employees are required to work without pay in the event of a government shutdown (i.e. budgetary incompetence). If you are classified as an an essential employee, you must work with ...
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Can I pay less taxes because of the government shutdown?
It's my understanding that the role of taxation is to maintain a functional government. At this time, I suspect that the U.S. government is saving quite a bit of money by not paying some subset of its ...
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Is the White House Weekly Address copyrighted?
I understand that US government films are not protected by copyright laws, but does this include White House Weekly Address? Are all episodes of weekly addresses free from copyright protection, ...
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Legality of ATF in their Final Review of Bump Stock regulation
I have been interested in the procedural legality of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Agency's Final Review of Bump Stocks.
There are two to the legality issue, and I'm only concerned with ...
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Does a DOJ grant of immunity protect against contempt of congress, or reenforce it?
For example, let's take Clinton tech aide Bryan Pagliano, who was granted some form of immunity by the Justice Department. The timeline on this seems confusing, but I'll summarize information I ...
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Private companies asking for Social Security Number?
I thought that the privacy act (HIPAA) forbade use of the Social Security Number, or even asking for it, except by banks and federal agencies.
Nevertheless, I frequently get asked for my Social ...
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How can the President appoint Whitaker as Acting Attorney General?
Today the president asked for and received the Attorney General’s resignation. Then it was announced that the DOJ Chief of Staff, Matthew Whitaker would be the Acting AG and according to the Hill, ...
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Is the government liable for data destroyed during a forensic examination?
Lets say you just traveled outside your home country (USA). You keep your data on a secure USB (FIPS 140-2 level 3) that will self destruct after (x) number of failed attempts. The data you keep on ...
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Is it not illegal to take minors across state lines without parental permission?
In the context of Roe v Wade discussion of the abortion issue, it's been suggested that even if the decision were to be reversed, it would have little effect. The argument goes along the lines that ...
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US Federal Laws Pertaining to Banned Books
I've been having trouble with my search for federally banned books. Many searches show books which are banned in local libraries or by the state, but not nationally. The only book I could find that ...
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Is it legal to require registration to obtain US Government software or data?
Is it legal to require registration to obtain US Government software or data?
For example, if a government web site makes you put in an email address before you can access public data or public ...
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Can we use Marines' sign for personal signature?
So I'm asking here as a normal person, not as Marine Corps.
So as a marine fan, is it possible (legal) to add Marines' Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (EGA) sign before your name in the end of documents or ...
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Can the US Government assert copyright on a government work internationally?
From what I understand, large swaths of US Government works are considered "public domain", but this unrestricted status applies only within the United States,
For this question I am assuming the ...
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Can a sitting U.S. president be imprisoned without impeachment?
A sitting U.S. president can not be indicted for federal crimes as a matter of constitutional separation of powers and DOJ policy, among other reasons.
The president's constitutional protections and ...
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Can any crime be a federal crime in the US?
As an example, can the US Congress declare that jaywalking is a federal offense? Or would the jaywalker have to cross a state border in order for the crime to become prosecutable by federal ...
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Is it possible to find all U.S. federal laws digitized and online?
Are all of the federal laws in the United States digitized and available to the public through some free ".gov" website? Is it possible to download them all into, say, PDF?
