Questions tagged [california]
Questions concerning the laws, criminal justice system, civil court procedures and related topics specific to the state of California.
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Is it legal for private citizens to "impound" e-scooters?
This recent article from The Verge claims that two men in San Diego have create a repo company that impounds e-scooters from companies like Lime, Bird, Lyft, Uber and Razor.
However as far as I can ...
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Is Elon Musk's child name valid in California?
Elon Musk and his partner want to name their child X Æ A-12.
Is that name allowed in California, US?
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If a signal person in California tells me to kill someone, do I have to do so?
According to California sample written driving test (problem 6):
You see a signal person at a road construction site ahead. You should obey his or her instructions:
A. Only if you see orange cones ...
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In Los Angeles can I defend my own property against looters?
Currently, there is looting being done in Los Angeles by many people who are pretending to protest against the killing of George Floyd (some others are actually protesting and a few people are helping ...
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Can I enter a rental property without giving notice if I'm afraid a tenant may be hurt?
I rent a “Mother-In-Laws quarters” (guest area) that is on the side of my house. It has a private entrance.
If I'm concerned something has happened to the tenant, am I legally allowed to enter the ...
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Suppose someone kills more people than they intended. Did they murder the extra people?
If a person sets a bomb in a music festival. Based on previous attendance numbers, they expected 60,000 people to show up. 120,000 people showed up and were killed by their bomb. Legally, did they ...
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California: "For quality assurance, this phone call is being recorded"
In California, it is illegal to record phone calls without the consent of all parties involved.
However, when you call corporate phone number, you often get a message to the effect of "For quality ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Can pay be witheld for hours cleaning up after closing time?
The bar in California, where I work, closes at midnight. We start cleaning (bar, kitchen, bathrooms, dishes) before we close, but only if it's not too busy. Once midnight hits, it takes 30 minutes ...
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Do I (witness) have to respond to email from defendant's lawyer?
I witnessed (heard) an alleged crime a long while back and was recorded as a witness by the police. Recently, I received an email from the defendant's lawyer requesting contact information and asking ...
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What does it mean if your apartment is in two cities at once
I discovered that the border between two cities runs through an apartment that I am renting. There are two official parcels, one in one city (City A) and one in another (City B), they are both in the ...
anon
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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 ...
user49663
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Strange Clause in Employment Contract Concerning Leaving Job
My teenager has applied for a tutoring job at a local after-school tutoring center and there is the following clause in her employment contract:
If you decide to discontinue after your term is over, ...
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Is it illegal to restore a car in my own driveway in Orange County, CA?
Long story short, I live in Anaheim, CA. I can't find any mention of laws regarding this, so here goes. My father has had a classic Camaro in our driveway since the 90s. It has been parked and ...
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Is it legal to refuse an offer for real estate which is above the asking price, when there are no other offers by the published due date
A house in California is for sale with asking price of X .
A buyer engages with an agent and finds out in writing that offers will be accepted until a certain date.
A buyer submits a formal written ...
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What are the legal ramifications of a legally dead person turning up alive?
Context: I am writing an urban fantasy story in which a man dies, is declared dead, and comes back to life via supernatural means on the autopsy table. The existence of the supernatural is not common ...
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If other party notified me that phone conversation is being recorded, do I need to tell them if I am also recording it?
When I call, for example, AT&T or any other company, then before they pick up the phone they sometimes give me a notice that the phone conversation could be recorded for training or other purposes....
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Can I sue an app for enabling harassment?
Can I sue an app for emotional distress?
My soon-to-be ex-husband has been using a fake phone number app in order to impersonate:
my child's school
the coroner's office
the police officers who are ...
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Is a thumbs-up emoji considered as legally binding agreement in the United States?
I read that a thumbs-up emoji considered as legally binding agreement in Canada. Is a thumbs-up emoji considered as legally binding agreement in the United States?
If state-specific, I am mostly ...
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In California, if a baseball lands in my yard, is it legally mine?
Say some neighborhood kid was playing baseball and accidentally hit the ball into my yard. Theoretically, if I own the house or my lease permits, I have the right to control access to my yard and, ...
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Can a crime victim sue the prosecutor that prosecuted the crime? [closed]
This is an unusual situation, probably not what you are expecting.
A few years ago, my addicted son would demand money from his mother (my wife) while I was at work. She would say no, but he wouldn't ...
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Does it constitute murder if the attempted murder fails but the victim dies anyway as a side effect of the attacker's actions?
For example, suppose an attacker is chasing a victim with a knife and the intention to kill. While running away, the victim falls, hitting their head, and dies.
Assuming there is clear evidence for ...
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If someone commits a crime, but suffers brain damage and has no memory of the crime, will they get punished?
Say that Bob is a horrible person who commits murder, theft, and a bunch of other bad stuff. Before getting caught, he shoots himself in the head. Miraculously, he survives, but with a severe case of ...
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"Pressing charges" - is it needed to bring a charge?
In movies, it is often the case that we see police decline to proceed with a case because the victim "refused to press charges". Recently we saw this with the battery of Chris Rock by Will ...
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What's the impact of this late fee typo?
My landlord has a late fee clause in our lease, which says that if the lessee is late with the rent, the lessor must pay a (poorly defined) late fee.
What would be the effect of this clause?
The ...
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What legal recourse do citizens have when law enforcement refuse to address crimes for political reasons?
This is a bit of follow-up to this situation, although the question is different and things got much worse.
According to a recent poll, 40% of San Francisco residents are considering moving out of the ...
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Do police have a civil duty to do their job?
If someone steals my car and the police refuse to respond, and in fact prevent me from taking action to recover the car.
Can police be sued for not doing their job? I.e., if I spend millions of ...
user31975
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Can you sue the courts and involved agencies for custody orders that proved harmful to you as a child?
One of my friend's parents, we'll call him Jamal, were separated early on. While both of his parents fought vigorously for custody of him and his brother Rodney, the court chose to grant his mother ...
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Baseball caught: Ownership? Can one leave?
A spectator found the baseball of Shohei Ohtani's first home run in the bleachers.
According to the linked article, she was surrounded by security and pressured to give up the ball (so that Ohtani can ...
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