195
votes
Accepted
What is the point of prohibiting currently impossible things?
As I see it, there are fundamentally three reasons a person would outlaw an action that is currently impossible:
To ensure that the first attempt is illegal
If you refuse to outlaw an immoral act ...
- 5,786
187
votes
Accepted
Why won't Donald Trump do something about "fake news"?
Because of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the ...
- 74.7k
135
votes
Accepted
You have the right to remain silent, but why?
As with many such rights, you should look to pre-modern Europe to understand the context in which such rights were introduced.
At that time, without forensic evidence, the best chance of a conviction ...
- 115k
117
votes
Accepted
Why is the US still heavily relying on cash bails?
Bails are a big industry which lobbies legislators to protect their business model.
It is traditional, and there is widespread belief in American Exceptionalism -- a refusal to consider that the US ...
- 106k
113
votes
Accepted
Why is banning communism symbols so hard to achieve as opposed to banning of Nazi symbols?
Nazis are a specific group of people who have committed atrocities in Europe. It is directly linked with the idea of Racial Superiority and Antisemitism.
We can agree that Nazism is morally bad. One ...
- 1,416
109
votes
Why would interracial marriages need legal protection in USA in 2022?
Because, in the recent Supreme Court opinion in the Dobbs case, the legal reasoning that Justice Alito used to overturn Roe v. Wade can reasonably be concluded to logically imply that Loving v. ...
- 73k
93
votes
Accepted
How do some countries make political laws against the burka but not against nun habits?
How do some countries make political laws against the burka but not against nun habits?
The nun habit doesn't cover the face, that's the big difference.
The usual approach in Europe is to forbid/...
- 5,359
80
votes
In Germany, why does the burden of proof fall on authorities rather than the company or individual when it comes to possible illegal funds?
Because that's the normal way round for criminal standard of proof?
America has the civil forfeiture system on "balance of probabilities", which has become a license for police corruption.
- 22k
74
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose behind having public holidays in modern times?
Holidays allow people to consolidate gathering plans. In the US, two important holidays are Memorial Day and Labor Day. These, more or less, mark the start and end of summer. As such, travel and ...
- 45.6k
70
votes
Accepted
Is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact constitutional?
The Interstate State Compact, if it ever was implemented by states representing 270 or more electors would almost certainly be tested in court. Until it is tested in the Supreme Court, nobody can ...
- 115k
70
votes
Accepted
Can I (a random person in the world) be prosecuted under the new Hong Kong security law?
How far applicable the law of a country is is decided by the law of that country. If other countries disagree, they can obviously decline to assist in the enforcement of those laws, and disallow the ...
- 12.7k
68
votes
Accepted
At what point can a micronation establish its own laws?
The question is not "When can you enforce your laws on your land?", the question is "When can you prevent the United Kingdom from enforcing their laws on your land?". That's the case if any of these ...
- 74.7k
67
votes
Why won't Donald Trump do something about "fake news"?
Apart from the legality, your assumptions are wrong.
You assume that there is a thing that can objectively be called "fake news", and that it comprises of stories containing false facts which can be ...
- 36k
66
votes
Why is Hunter Biden's testimony in the impeachment trial relevant?
'Why' questions are inherently difficult, often de-evolving to opinion-mongering. Unless someone in the White House tells us their reasoning explicitly, we could only guess.
However, what we can say ...
- 67.7k
64
votes
Accepted
Why are legal decisions in the US so politicized?
There are 2 separate issues in your question, and I'll address them separately.
First: why do people comment on legal cases outside a discussion of the law?
Because law and justice are related, but ...
- 25.9k
63
votes
Why is Poland's proposed Holocaust speech law so controversial?
The Law and Polish Complicity in the Holocaust
While "Poland as a nation" is not to blame for the Holocaust, and while there was no official cooperation between Poland and Germany, government ...
- 36k
63
votes
Why are legal decisions in the US so politicized?
When you study law and policy, you lose the illusion that there is some apolitical, impartial "Law" that brings about justice - let alone that such a thing exists inside courtrooms. If you'...
- 16.4k
61
votes
Accepted
Can the president of the United States be guilty of insider trading?
Is there potential for the President of the United States to commit insider trading? Certainly. The President has access to all kinds of material information that is non-public, either because it’s ...
- 25.9k
60
votes
Accepted
Can a President mandate Upvotes?
A president has the power, under the general terms of Article 2, to instruct the various federal agencies how to act, and how to spend the money that they already have. Any such order is then subject ...
- 115k
59
votes
Why are US student loans nearly impossible to remove via bankruptcy?
I don't think there's a clear and definitive reason. The Nondischargeability of Student Loans in Personal Bankruptcy Proceedings: The Search for a Theory by John A. E. Pottow of the University of ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
57
votes
Accepted
Why are there laws for victimless 'crimes'
There are three major arguments which are often brought up to justify it when societies decide to punish people for victimless crimes:
The values of the society in general are considered the victim ...
- 74.7k
56
votes
Accepted
How did George W. Bush make torture legal and what did Obama undo?
The Bush administration asserted that "enhanced interrogation" techniques like waterboarding were not torture and not illegal. The Obama administration asserted that they were torture and were ...
- 89.3k
56
votes
Accepted
Why do US tech companies honor rulings by the EU when they don't have jurisdiction?
If the companies ignore the laws of the European Union (EU), then the EU can fine them. The United States (US) may refuse to collect on the fines, but even so, the example company is doing business ...
- 89.3k
52
votes
Accepted
What are the implications of the EARN IT Act?
Background
The heart of the issue here is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was not part of the original Senate legislation, but was ...
- 45.6k
51
votes
Accepted
What specifically did Michael Flynn do wrong?
Update - WH Statement
According to the White House spokesperson Sean Spicer, Trump seemed to have requested the resignation of Flynn due to a "trust issue".
President Donald Trump asked for ...
- 46.5k
51
votes
Accepted
Which Democratic Presidential candidates favored making illegal entry only a civil violation?
Here are the Democratic Presidential Candidates that definitely support repealing section 1325:
Bernie Sanders: His website says “As president, Bernie will [r]epeal 8 U.S. Code Section 1325, putting ...
- 8,987
51
votes
What are the implications of the EARN IT Act?
The proposed argument for this bill is that it will help to cut down on crimes, specifically sexual child abuse. Presently, end to end encryption provides a near impenetrable means for anyone (...
- 2,125
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