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4 votes
1 answer
2k views

A marriage ceremony that was missing a person

Please consider the following hypothetical siltation. Two people, of the opposite gender, are planning on getting married. When it is time for the ceremony, one of them does not show up. The minister ...
Bob's user avatar
  • 1,221
58 votes
4 answers
11k views

What laws would Jesus be breaking if he were to turn water into wine today?

In the Bible is Jesus’ first miracle: of turning water into wine: “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. [...] Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 1,118
1 vote
2 answers
153 views

Did any ancient legal systems require covenants/oaths/contracts to be made in the morning?

“Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent ...
Someone's user avatar
  • 17.1k
3 votes
1 answer
143 views

Why was Ağca tried and imprisoned in Italy?

Mehmet Ali Ağca tried to kill the pope in 1981 in Vatican City. For this, he was tried and convicted by an Italian court, and served time in an Italian prison. Why Italian? What did Italy have to do ...
msh210's user avatar
  • 226
12 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why was the house of lords seen to have such supreme legal wisdom as to be designated as the court of last resort in the UK?

Indeed their judgements seemed often to be quite sage, insightful, and eloquently given. But why would that tend to be the case? As I understand it, to become a lord, one must inherit a seat through ...
John Jacob Jingle's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
228 views

Do countries which ceased to exist de facto continue to "exist" de jure in some jurisidictions?

I.e. Russian Empire, which was obviously recognized by the UK and the US, ceased to exist de facto due to a revolution. It was de facto succesed by the USSR, but the USSR wasn't a legal succesor. ...
kandi's user avatar
  • 41
23 votes
2 answers
6k views

Have draft SCOTUS opinions been leaked before?

A draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson has been leaked. Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy has claimed: It is totally unprecedented for a draft opinion to be leaked. Is it unprecedented, or ...
Geremia's user avatar
  • 989
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

What is the significance of raising one's right hand before making an oath or affirmation?

It is common in many jurisdictions to raise one's right hand before making an oath or affirmation. What is the origin and meaning of such a practice? This can help answer similar questions. For ...
The Editor's user avatar
  • 1,331
3 votes
1 answer
257 views

Did Sweden really make it illegal to sell imported Nintendo 64 games (and *only* those) in the later half of 1997?

I'm re-reading my old Super PLAY magazines from the 1990s. Since before the Nintendo 64 was released in Sweden/Europe, and after it had occurred, the magazines were full of ads selling imported USA ...
Sven's user avatar
  • 31
0 votes
1 answer
239 views

Were American lawyers ever required to know the Bible and if so which states

I heard this mentioned somewhere. Have also seen laws in some of the colonies that were almost verbatim taken from the Bible, however I can't find any mention of a particular state requiring (or even ...
bitshift's user avatar
  • 101
0 votes
2 answers
82 views

Lord Hailsham and Learned Hand - Two Addresses

I've been reading some broad and general books on constitutional and public law of England and Wales. A number of works are often cited, e.g. Lord Bingham's Rule of law, Bagehot's The English ...
Teddy38's user avatar
  • 103
3 votes
1 answer
520 views

Did Las Vegas really ever have such harsh punishments for using/having/selling Cannabis?

In the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", set in the 1970s, Las Vegas has a big sign saying how possession of marijuana gives you 25 years in prison there (the entire Nevada, I assume?) ...
K. Casavan's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
305 views

Did they not require any kind of passport or identity when traveling between countries before the year 1914?

During World War I, European governments introduced border passport requirements for security reasons, and to control the emigration of people with useful skills. These controls remained in place ...
Shamonte F.'s user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
278 views

Is the individual right to bear arms disproven by the deleted conscientious objector clause of the 2nd amendment?

As an individual, is the notion that an American has the right to a firearm per the 2nd amendment disproven based on the deleted clause of conscientious objectors? Proposed by James Madison upon the ...
Mike Perez's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
59 views

In 1940 Ireland, could a man with a venereal disease obtain a condom legally?

My questions arise from a scenario in Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, published in 1939, and pertain to Irish contraception and medical laws around or before 1939. Contraception was illegal in Ireland ...
fundagain's user avatar
  • 167

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