104
votes
USPS Back Room - Trespassing?
Trespassing requires that you be on someone else's property without their permission. The supervisor has explicitly given you permission, so it's not possible for you to trespass. You are correct that ...
- 4,263
83
votes
Accepted
What is the legal distinction between Twitter banning Trump and Trump blocking individuals?
Trump was an officer of the government, and Twitter wasn't. The First Amendment forbids the government and its agents from viewpoint discrimination, but private companies are not bound by it and can ...
- 28.6k
37
votes
Accepted
In the US, can the courts intervene if an extremely destructive (but constitutional) law is passed?
Generally, the legislature is not restricted to passing laws that are a good idea. This has been remarked on by the Supreme Court (in Justice Stevens's concurrence, emphasis added):
But as I recall ...
- 10.2k
32
votes
Suppose I pay by money order, not debit card. If the mechant scams me, will the Post Office refund me?
No, the only purpose of a money order is that it's effectively a form of guaranteed cash that only one person can access. There are no additional protections offered by it.
However, given that you are ...
- 2,092
29
votes
"Murder laws are governed by the states, [not the federal government]." Is Vivek Ramaswamy right?
It's a bit of an oversimplification. You're correct that there is a federal law against murder, 18 USC 1111. However it applies only to a murder committed in the special maritime and territorial ...
- 28.6k
26
votes
Accepted
Does the government control what time it is?
15 USC Subchapter IX gives the Secretary of Transportation powers to set rules about the 11 time zones, and those laws supersede state and local laws. Observance of Daylight Savings Time is optional ...
- 206k
25
votes
Accepted
Bright-line or Litmus Test for Sedition?
There are several treason and sedition crimes in federal law all of which are defined by statute.
Treason Offenses
Treason offenses pertain to acts in furtherance of a foreign country or sometimes ...
- 185k
24
votes
Accepted
Would it be legal for a US State to ban exports of a natural resource?
No
A state may not do that.
The US Constitution Art. I section 8 says:
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for ...
- 112k
23
votes
Accepted
What laws apply to Visa holders in the US?
All laws (federal, state and local) apply to everybody, unless you have diplomatic immunity. That is, unless e.g. the federal government decides as a matter of policy to ignore certain federal laws. ...
- 206k
21
votes
Accepted
Is the U.S. Code copyrighted by the Government?
US Laws are Free of Copyright
Federal Works
17 USC 105 says:
Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government ...
- 112k
21
votes
Accepted
As a non-US person, what license may I have to use public materials from agencies of US government?
17 USC 105 provides that:
(a) In General.—Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from ...
- 112k
21
votes
Where do executive agencies obtain their power to effectively legislate?
Legislation passed by Congress grants authority to the Executive to make regulations relevant to a particular topic. It's common for Congress to pass laws that contain language like "The ...
- 606
19
votes
What is the legal distinction between Twitter banning Trump and Trump blocking individuals?
An analogy.
I own a meeting hall. I rent it out to the US Forest Service, who frequently has public hearings on matters of policy e.g. whether to open a sector for logging or recreation, seal up ...
19
votes
Suppose I pay by money order, not debit card. If the mechant scams me, will the Post Office refund me?
Suppose I pay by money order, not debit card. If the mechant scams me,
will the Post Office refund me?
No.
The only difference between a money order and cash for all practical purposes is that a ...
- 185k
18
votes
USPS Back Room - Trespassing?
if a postal police officer happened to be there one day, he'd [...]
question the supervisor
I'd say the post office people, and esp. the supervisor, are at much higher risk than you. If, by some ...
- 289
18
votes
As a non-US person, what license may I have to use public materials from agencies of US government?
As others have noted, works by the US Government are public domain within the USA. However that does not apply abroad:
3.1.7 Does the Government have copyright protection in U.S. Government works in ...
- 12.9k
15
votes
USPS Back Room - Trespassing?
If they tell you to leave and you do not it is trespassing, but all you have to do is say OK and leave if they ask you to go. Anyone complaining about that is immature.
- 3,944
14
votes
Does the government control what time it is?
tl/dr: All states have to use US Standard Time.
The US Gov't power of standards
The US Gov't's power to keep time falls under Article 1 Section 8 Clause 5 of the US Constitution:
To coin Money, ...
- 2,010
14
votes
HR1 would force states to have independent districting. How does the federal gov't have authority to require this?
The US Constitution doesn't say one way or the other how a state's representatives are to be chosen, so until this law was passed in 1841, a state could have all of their representatives elected at-...
- 206k
14
votes
Operationalizing the definition of "dating relationship" in federal US domestic violence law
The court decides and there is precedent
This type of definition is very common and the legislative intent is to give the court discretion to decide whether the particular relationship in the ...
- 192k
13
votes
Accepted
Title 53, why is it reserved?
So a little background will help. the United States Code has only been around since 1926 where before the law was a patchwork of acts. Over time congress has taken a bundle of acts and relegated them ...
- 2,326
13
votes
Could the US Federal Government open abortion clinics inside Federal buildings?
The Hyde Ammendment prevents any federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. You can be certain that providing clinic space to provide abortions would be quickly challenged in court as a ...
- 3,112
13
votes
Could the federal government mandate state universities to not discriminate against out-of-state students?
Such a law could probably be passed under the authority of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution. Price controls on various products have previously been justified under that clause.
- 112k
13
votes
"Murder laws are governed by the states, [not the federal government]." Is Vivek Ramaswamy right?
This Is Not An Accurate Statement Of U.S. Constitutional Law
State governments have "plenary" (i.e. unlimited) power to enact any legislation authorized by the state's constitution which is ...
- 185k
13
votes
Accepted
Can the Secret Service arrest someone who uses an illegal drug inside of the White House?
The Secret Service is primarily concerned with protecting the people and information they oversee, not enforcing laws.
They have the power to arrest someone for any unlawful conduct, but unless a drug ...
- 2,598
12
votes
Accepted
List of state and federal authorities having regulatory control over microbreweries
You're forgetting city and county health codes, business permits, zoning regulations, fire and occupation regulations, business and property insurance, labor laws, etc. These can differ between the ...
- 18.7k
11
votes
In the US, can the courts intervene if an extremely destructive (but constitutional) law is passed?
I am not convinced that all of the examples are indeed valid laws. There are also conceivable grounds to invalidate a law (at least as applied to particular circumstances) beyond the law being ...
- 185k
11
votes
What is the legal distinction between Twitter banning Trump and Trump blocking individuals?
The main reason for this asymmetry is, as the other answers say, that Twitter is a private company and Trump was a government official. It is a little more subtle, in that Twitter is not a regulated ...
- 206k
10
votes
What body is the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accountable to for aviation security functions?
The Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet-level arm of the Executive Branch. The Sec'y of Homeland Security directly "runs" that branch, and serves at the pleasure of the President of the ...
- 206k
10
votes
Does the government control what time it is?
This is addressing the last paragraph: could the federal government decide on "eternal October" to avoid a presidential election?
The date of the election itself is set by statute. However the ...
- 12.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible