Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Mission Monitor Board Quislet's Super Law Firm...of Space!

Is the law a nass?

It does not count because in Space no one can hear you file a lawsuit.

Well in most cases the Appeals Court (which include Supreme Courts) are there to rule on a point of law, not the facts.

for example, in a criminal trial, the trial judge may allow a witness to testify. On the appeal, one side says that the judge was wrong to allow the witness to testify. If the Appeals Court agrees, then they send the case back to the trial court for a new trial in which that witness does not get to testify. In a jury trial, you would also get a new jury.

Now if the trier of facts is just the judge, the rulling by the appeals court may cause the trial judge to see things in a different light and change his opinion. (Yeah I know, that is not always the case, but it could happen) So in some cases it really is just a matter of form to remand (Thats legalese for "send back") the case back to the trial judge. Also if the trial judge based his finding on a piece of evidence no longer part of the record, then the judge has to come up with a new reason to make his original opinion stand or else reverse him/herself.

Probably but not in all cases.

And it depends on your point of view. The same law that tells a private hotel who they can and cannot refuse a room to (Damn government telling me what I can or can't do on my own property) also tells a person "you don't have to travel miles out of your way and pay a higher fee just because you are (Asian or Catholic or French or (add your own)"

I got one for you... not really a question, more of an exercise.

Being that I am part of the ignorant mass public, I have enjoyed shows like Matlock, Night Court, and Perry Mason reruns over the years. What is your opinion of these shows (assuming you have watched them) and is there any Lawyer television show out there that "got/gets it right"?

For example, my Dad was a police officer when I was growing up; And he hated all cop shows saying how they were never realistic. A cop would never enter the building that way, and certainly wouldn't go in there without backup and the such, etc. The one cop show he thought that came closest to portraying factual police work was Barney Miller.

I guess my point is that I would like to hear a lawyer's take on how lawyers are portrayed in popular tv media.

What if Comet, the Super-Horse broke up with his long-time girlfriend?

Is there such a thing as Palamino Palimony?

Well of the shows you mentioned, I've only watched Night Court and as that was a comedy (and I wasn't a lawyer when I watched it) I wouldn't be looking for accuracy.

I like Law & Order (Although I hate how in the opening they go "Law" and show the police and then "Order" and show the lawyers when the police actually represent Order and the Lawyers Law) In one of the earlier episodes, the older cop (not Jerry Orbach) puts two suspects in the back of the car, leaving the dorr open. He then says he has to make a call and leads the younger cop away. The younger cop asks what's up and the Older cop says "Do you think they have a 'reasonble expectation of privacy'"? I saw this episode shortly after reading the Supreme Court case that coined the phrase "reasonable expectation of privacy". I do think Law & Order gets it right (I don't know about the spin off Law & Order shows though)

Now, I caught the end of the Jim Carrey film "Liar Liar" and there they got the rule of law about voiding contracts (in this case a pre-nuptial) wrong. (Just one more reason for me not to like Jim Carrey.

Now just after I took "Property", I went to a Halloween Schlockfest of bad horror movies. One called Thirteen Ghosts (A remake was just released) had a family inheriting a house from an uncle but only if they never sell it. I immediately thought "That's restraint of alienation" (meaning that you can't prohibit anyone from selling property) I immediately then thought "No, no, thats just a plot device to get them to keep the house."

All Palimony questions should be directed to Semi Transparent Fellow. He is the divorce lawyer.

FWIW, I have never seen the show, but I have heard that the mid-'60s series The Defenders was very, very well done and that it was about as close to real world proceedures as it was possible to get.

The show starred a young, pre-Brady Bunch... um, the father, what was his name.

IIRC, it also had a tengentat legion AR as some episodes were written by William Woolfolk.

Robert Reed played Mike Brady

I remember that episode of Law and Order. I believe Paul Sorvino was the "Old" cop who did that. I like your point about who is "The Law" and who is "The Order" too. Law & Order is a funny (not ha ha, but weird funny) show for me... TNT use to run it during the noon to 1:00 hour and I would watch it then, but whenever it is on in prime time, I just can't get interested in it.

Thanks for responding, I appreciate your insight.

I just realized that I am in danger of becoming smarter (only one way for me to go I guess) because of this thread. Who woulda ever thunk it?

Minesurfer,

It is my pleasure to respond.

And for those who want to know about the mis-law in "Liar Liar":

The basic set up is that Jim Carrey' client signed a pre-nuptial agreement that said if she committed adultery, then she gets nothing from her husband. And she did commit adultery. Jim Carrey figures out that she lied about her age and was a minor when she signed it. He then claims that the contract is void. That is incorrect.

A contract that is void, is one that could never take place in the first place. Such as a contract to commit a crime. (No court would enforce an assassination contract)

A contract entered into by a minor is voidable That means that the contract is valid, but the minor can avoid the contract if she/he so chooses. (Contracts made by minors concerning food, shelter and necessities are not voidable) So a 17 year old signs a contract to buy a new Ferrari. He takes the car, drives around, impressing all his friends. He even makes a couple of payments. Then he realizes, how much it will cost him and goes back to the dealership. He can then void the contract (He does have to give back the car) However, Say this 17 year old holds on to the car for two years, making his monthly payments. Now he can't void the contract. Why? Because when he turned 18 and continued to make payments, he ratified the contract and is now bound to it as if he had made it when he was of legal age.

So back to the movie. The client may have signed the pre-nuptial when she was a minor, but as soon as she turned 18, she ratified the contract by continuing to receive the benefits of the contract (i.e. being married to wealthy guy)

It doesn't hurt to reprint this:

Disclaimer: I will not be giving any legal advice that you should take. The information I give is for entertainment and education purposes only. If you have a real legal issue, you should consult a lawyer in your own area of the world.

Quis, since on my homeworld Grrggr, the legal age of being an adult is 16, does that mean that I don't have to pay child support for my daughter Umber, who is 17? Does the fact that she doesn't know that she's my daughter yet affect this? Thanks!

Cobalt,

Well if you have become a resident of Legion World, you become subject to our laws, including the age of majority. (this is based on the idea that if you avail yourself to the benefits and protections of a state, then you are subject to its law. And by Living and working in a state, you do "Avail yourself" of its protections and benefits without any conscious actions on your part. see American Shoe) Assuming that Legion world operates on the basic laws of the US (Very Ameri-centric of me, I know) then you are responsible for child support until Umbra is 18 (the age of majority in the US)

The fact that Umbra does not know you are her father does not affect your obligation and someone else could bring action against you on Umbra's behalf.

Another point came up over on the main board, something about DC issuing a cease & desist for certain fan based sites like the Legion of Super Resources page.

Portfolio Boy asked Scott:

"SO, how long do you suppose before this place (meaning this message board) gets the 'ol C&D?

Has anyone contacted you yet?"

and

He Who Wanders asked:

"I wonder why they C&D'd him (LSR). Listing links to various fan-related sites sounds not only harmless to me, but also beneficial to DC, as it promotes their characters (and DC didn't even have to pay for the service!).

Just what's the difference, legally, between what LSR did and what LW does?"

Since it seemed an appropriate topic for this thread, Can you shed any light on these questions for us? What are DC's motives for shutting down (what I assume to be a) not-for-profit site like The LSR?

First, I am only marginally aware of the LSR and what its purpose was. So, I do not know what the difference is between LSR and LW. Did LSR Sell banner advertisement on its site? If so, then they could be considered making money off of DC's copyrighted material.

Second, I do not know what DC's motives are. Looking at this logically, I see two reasons for a company to request a cease and desist order.

1) The offending party is making money of the requesting party's copyright, patent, or good name.

2) The offending party is not making money off of the requesting party's copyright, patent, goodname, etc., but the resuesting party feels that the actions of the offending party diminishes, sullies, or makes less valuable their copyright, patent, goodname, etc.

So was my answer in the originating thread where this question came up accurate?

That sounds right. But again, I don't have access to the information of why DC did what they did or the court documents filed, so I can only speculate as to the why.

Anyone ambitious enough should be able to get a copy of Dc's complaint for the C&D as it would be a public record. You would need to know where it was filed though. And most (if not all court) would charge you copying costs.

And strictly speaking, having pop up ads do count for making money. Even though the site owner might be using the ads to just pay for the site (which would have come out of the site owner's pocket), they are a source of revenue. So, you have enough pop up ads and where does the extra money go?

Actually the pop-ups wouldn't have made money for the site 'owner' which was technically Michael and why he got pegged. They were making money for the owner of the server. But that's splitting hairs and since Michael was responsible for the site he was the one they went after.

He actually shared the letter with everyone at one time on one of the Legion Yahoo groups but I don't recall which. Maybe I'll look around later when I have time and see if I can dig it up.

But the actual concern for DC was that someone other than DC was making money off of their copyrighted characters.

Whew! Just checked the laws of Legion World and the legal age of being an adult is 17! I'm in the clear! Altough I'll never be able to recover from the fact that I missed her childhood, as I did my son Numf-El and my four evil sons that I was forced to destroy...

But that's not a legal question! Here's this one: if my interns at the security office sign a contract that acknowledges the fact that I will consistently hit on them throughout their employment, and then I accidently fail to hit on them one day, can I be brought up on charges for not giving them the proper amount of harrasment that the security office has promised it's employees?

well, you might still owe for pass due child support payments for when Umbra and the others were under the age of majority. It depends on the statute of limitations how long a person can file a claim against you.


Regarding your other question:

See my post on Void Contracts. As harassment is an illegal act, that part of the contract would be considered void, and so you can not be held liable for that part of the contract. I would watch out about actually harassing your employees as you may find yourself subject to a lawsuit for harrassing them .

Thanks Quis ! It's never really harrasment, just steamy love affairs in the Security Office!