17
votes
Accepted
Can federal courts overturn state court decisions on matters of state law?
No.
Federal courts, when sitting in diversity jurisdiction,* are obligated to follow state law as articulated by state courts, as the Supreme Court ruled in Erie Railroad Company v. Tompkins. If there ...
- 3,513
15
votes
May a juror refuse to answer questions?
The case North Carolina v. Sanders contains many of the requisite elements. The first question is whether the judge can inquire into possible juror misconduct which may involve "giving cautionary ...
- 210k
10
votes
Accepted
Does an inherited IRA count toward a specific bequest?
Unless there is some affirmative indication in the language of the will that the IRA amount counts against Nellie's inheritance, Nellie receives the $3 million IRA plus $7 million, for a total of $10 ...
- 195k
7
votes
May a juror refuse to answer questions?
No
new-south-wales
The judge has the power under s55D and s55DA to examine jurors under oath in certain circumstances, and the juror cannot refuse to answer, although if their answers are self-...
- 198k
5
votes
Accepted
Does a birth certificate list the baby's legal or biological father?
The birth certificate lists the legal parents (or only the mother, if a second legal parent is not established at the time of birth).
The rules about how to establish legal parentage and how to fill ...
- 212
4
votes
Is it plagiarism to exchange video-editing techniques?
First, plagiarism is taking claiming some intellectual work as your own without giving proper attribution (there are other optional social rules regarding plagiarism which we don't need to get into). ...
- 210k
4
votes
Why are US convicts sent to prison with a public "rap sheet" detailing the charges against them?
Laws governing rap sheet disposition are set at the level of state law, for state crimes, I will focus on Washington state. Rap sheets have "always" been sent to prisons and there is no ...
- 210k
3
votes
Using a company's logo in reference to something
Company logos may be protected by copyright, but that requires two things: They must be eligible for copyright, meaning they need to above the so called "threshold of originality". In simple ...
- 4,865
3
votes
Is it plagiarism to exchange video-editing techniques?
Plagiarism is not a legal issue
Plagiarism is a type of academic misconduct where a person passes off another persons work as their own or uses another’s work without appropriate citation. It is not ...
- 198k
1
vote
Forcing an HOA meeting?
british-columbia
Under the province's Strata Property Act, owners can apply for a court order to require the strata corporation to hold the required meeting. See s. 165
On application of an owner, ...
- 43.9k
1
vote
Can federal courts overturn state court decisions on matters of state law?
Any cause of action advanced at the federal level must have a federal basis, such federal law, the federal constitution, or general legal principles accepted by the federal courts. Simply asserting ...
- 5,559
1
vote
Is a non-exclusive and revocable license valid consideration for a legal agreement/contract?
Yes
You get to use something together with everyone else who buys a license until someone calls it off. That is more than a peppercorn, thus it is a valid consideration.
- 33.8k
1
vote
Can a US President give police a "kill order"?
Of course he can.
I hereby order you, DSFan, to go eat some cheese. That is a direct order, from me to you.
Now, I don't have any particular authority to issue that order. I certainly don't have a way ...
- 111
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible