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1500 questions
30
votes
4 answers
ISP is not hashing the password I log in with online. Should I take any action?
I just phoned the customer support number for my ISP for the first time and was surprised to be asked the fourth and fifth characters of my password, specifically the one I used to log into my account on their website, not a special password for use…
fluidj
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1 answer
Can a significant change in incentives void an employment contract?
Recently over at The Workplace there was a question regarding an employee withholding valuable information that they developed in their spare time. According to their employment contract all intellectual property they develop, regardless of work…
Summer
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30
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3 answers
What does "corruption of blood" mean?
Having read this question, it makes reference to treason, to which part of it states:
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the…
SE Does Not Like Dissent
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30
votes
4 answers
When is ignorance a legal defense?
In the United States, under what circumstances is ignorance of a law or legal principle a defense against legal action?
Kevin Li
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3 answers
Why does the victim have to press charges?
Case in point that was in the news:
"BART identifies man in viral video of racist attack on train", East Bay Times
A California man attacked a stranger while expressing his hatred of the victim's ethnicity.
Everything was caught on video. It seems…
MWB
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30
votes
5 answers
Am I allowed to kill a person threatening me? CA, USA
You are riding a public transit train and out of nowhere a man with blue jeans takes out a P99 semiautomatic pistol and takes the passengers hostage. Luckily you have a knife on you. But you don't know whether it is legal to kill a person under such…
Ashley Madison
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votes
3 answers
Are jurors allowed to teach law to one another?
I vaguely recall in the case of Oracle v. Google in regards to Java v. Android that was happening in a district court physically located in San Jose, California, that one of the jurors was familiar with the process and procedure of acquiring…
cnst
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29
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5 answers
Is it illegal to warm up your car?
According to this article, the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 46.61.600 prohibits people from starting their cars in Washington State if they're unoccupied. However, it's a common practice for people to turn on their cars before entering, so the…
The Editor
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29
votes
11 answers
Why is drunk driving causing accident punished so much worse than just drunk driving?
When people drink and drive and then cause an accident especially where if someone dies they get years and years in prison but just the act of drunk driving is punished way more lenient. Shouldn't the 2, drunk driving and drunk driving then causing…
Bigbob23
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29
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5 answers
Why do some licenses have a clause stating that one can't violate the law?
Example of such a clause in the Creative MLOpen RAIL-M dated August 22, 2022 used by runwayml/stable-diffusion-v1-5:
You agree not to use the Model or Derivatives of the Model:
In any way that violates any applicable national, federal, state,…
Franck Dernoncourt
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29
votes
1 answer
Why the obscure but specific description of Jane Doe II in the original complaint for Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity?
In Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity (2023), filed in the Wyoming District of U.S. court, the plaintiffs are seven women, members of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at University of Wyoming, suing the national organization (based in Ohio) for…
Mark Dominus
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2 answers
How can roomate finder offer an 'LGBT household' option for filtering potential roomates without violating USA's fair housing act?
The title sort of says it all. I was using a roommate finding/room rental app when I noticed it had an option to filter for 'LGBT housing'. The Fair Housing Act forbids discriminating against sex, including sexuality. Thus I'm wondering how…
dsollen
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29
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7 answers
If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law?
The problem with old laws seems to be that many times the drafters aren't alive to tell what their intent or interpretation is of a given law, but in case a law is new and the drafter or drafters are alive, can courts ask them about the…
user49663
29
votes
7 answers
Is there a law against destroying works of art of historic importance when you are the owner?
At work we recently had a bit of a debate about whether or not it would be legal to destroy a work of art if you are the owner of said work.
A few years ago, Banksy destroyed his own painting by shredding it, and recently there have been several…
Deekay
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29
votes
3 answers
Do these NY old dumb laws actually exist?
I read some articles about old dumb laws in NY that few people know about. Apparently, these are violations that no one would be fined for in practice because they are so archaic that not even law-enforcers are aware of them. However, I was unable…
David A.
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