Thursday, May 21, 2020

Laws People Insist Are Real But Don't Exist


Someone on AskReddit got a thread going about the various laws that people insist are real, but actually aren't. These could be helpful to take note of for the next time you find someone running their mouth about something they are sure is a law, but in actuality is nothing of the sort. 

1.

Text - Dinothegreen • 1h It's a law that exists but widely misunderstood is the concept of Entrapment. If the police put a Bait vehicle in a high crime area, that is NOT entrapment. If the police are watching a bar known to overserve to see if there are impaired drivers at the end of the night that is NOT entrapment. Entrapment only occurs when a gov agent suggests committing a crime that you were not otherwise going to commit.

2.

Text - TannedCroissant • 2h In the UK, it's not illegal to park on someone else's drive(way). It's classified as trespassing, a civil offence, not criminal, which means the police can't do anything. This particularly surprises people as many think that they have exclusive rights to the parking outside their house as well.

3.

Text - Hamsternoir • 3h In the UK that it is illegal to drink under the age of 18. You can buy alcohol with a meal at 16 (beer, wine, cider) and you are not breaking any laws if you give your child some alcohol in the privacy of your own home and they are over the age of 5.

4.

Text - doctor-rumack • 3h It's federal law in the US that a plain clothes or undercover police officer HAS to identify themselves as law enforcement if asked. No, it's not the law, and they can tell you whatever the fuck they want.

5.

Text - cushionblock • 1h In my country some people believe they can 'press charges' against someone. You can't. You report a crime and the police decide if they are taking it further. It's not up to you whether charges are brought, you may want charges brought but the police drop the case. Alternatively you can refuse to 'press charges' and the police can bring a case anyway. It's harder without the victim or witness cooperation but they still can. You do have a right to civil cases of course bu

6.

Text - GuiltyLawyer • 4h Driving with interior overhead car lights on is not illegal.

7.

Text - hastur777 • 3h Fighting words is not a defense to battery. It just means that the government can prosecute face to face insults likely to lead to a breach of the peace. ETA: Not to say that provocation defenses don't exist dependent on jurisdiction, but "fighting words" in the US refers to an exception to the 1st Amendment. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/315us568

8.

Text - LadyBugPuppy • 1h This isn't exactly what you're asking for, but think it's valuable for people to know: You do not need to wait 24 hours to report someone as missing.

9.

Text - WatchTheBoom • 2h "Good Samaritan" laws aren't nearly as broad as people think. For context, I work in emergency services. Some people believe that "I was trying to help" are the magic words that can get them out of any sticky situation.

10.

Text - LaserBeamsCattleProd • 4h No laws against driving barefoot.

11.

Text - ArminTanz • 1h 2 Awards Im no lawyer but I don't feel like most of the villains in Scooby Do committed any actual crime. I don't think its against the law to put on a mask and scare some trespassers on you own property.

12.

Text - liljackass • 2h negligent motorcycle driver forced me to hit him from behind with my car i was young and naive at the time, never been in an accident until then, guy makes me sign a paper that says that the accident is my fault because i hit from behind and wanted compensation i explained the situation to my dad, and he concluded that the guy was obstructing normal traffic and i had no option but to hit him from behind in the particular circumstance the guy ended up taking us to court, sh

13.

Text - Auntie_Hero • 1h An arrest isn't magically invalidated if the police don't read you your rights on the spot. There could be a whole thread of just misconceptions people have from watching Cop TV.

14.

Text - 99999999977prime • 2h I'm not driving, I'm traveling.

15.

Text - RmeMSG • 1h People that think it's illegal to be video taped in a public space.

16.

Text - Pazlen • 2h U.S., Ex lawyer here: There is no law that requires the police to provide you with their name and badge number when asked (there may be internal policies, but it's not the law). There is also no law that requires the police to get a supervisor if demanded (again, policy vs law). There is no law that allows you to question whether an order given by the police is lawful or not (a court has to decide if the order was lawful after the fact), but there are laws to punish you if you

17.

Text - 1 Award The one that is the most frustrating to me, even though it's not really a specific claim that a particular law exists, more a rule of evidence, is "that's just hearsay! You have no evidence!" Comes up all the time, in all kinds of contexts. Even lawyers love using it when it suits them: "nothing but hearsay and speculation." Usually, what people mean when they say that is "don't believe them! They're lying!" Which, fair enough, but that's not what hearsay means. Lottttts of eviden

18.

Text - iBendUover • 2h Eventhough many people think so, there has actually never been a Danish law allowing you to beat up a swede with a stick, if he should walk across the ice on Oresund during winter. But, eventhough the law has never existed, it doesn't meen it shouldn't.

19.

Text - Alleline • 1h "Sovereign citizen" stuff. I feel like enough folks have claimed to be sovereign citizens that it's become normal. But no, generally you can't declare yourself exempt from the laws in effect where you are.

20.

Text - snow_big_deal • 1h "If you live together for X period of time, you're automatically legally married." There are different time periods for different purposes, and being common-law doesn't always have the same effect as being married. So for example your employer might give your partner spousal benefits after one year, but division-of-property laws might only apply after three. And all of this varies from one place to another. Some places don't have division-of-property laws for common law

21.

Text - Wetowkinboutpractice 1h If the teacher isn't here within 15 minutes we're legally allowed to leave

22.

Text - ToastAndASideOfToast • 2h They cannot arrest a husband and wife for the same crime.

23.

Text - Blazerblaster • 1h Not a law, but how people believe the polygraph tells the truth. The polygraph is can not be used as evidence in court. Therefore, not science. Might as well use a ouigi board.

24.

Text - Micheal83 • 3h That an undercover cop has to tell a target that they are undercover if they're asked.

25.

Text - NoBlueKoolAid • 1h Paralegal: A lot of people think that the law requires you to be a good, decent person. If I'm sitting on a bench and see a blind person about to walk into the path of a bus, it's completely legal for me (in the United States) to remain silent, take my cell phone out, and take a video of his death. It's even legal for me to profit from the video. I'd be a monster for doing it, but there's no law imposing a duty on me to tell this stranger, "watch out for that bus!"

26.

Text - netpenthe • 2h Freedom of speech in my country. That's from watching too many US movies

27.

Text - Coolest_Breezy • 1h In California, it's not illegal to discuss your wages with your co-workers, despite what your boss might say.

28.

Text - matofthenorth • 1h Freedom of Speech and Censorship laws do not apply on social media. If your comments or posts get deleted by an administrator it is not infringing on your rights. Have you been arrested for your statements? Have you been prosecuted for saying something? If the answer is NO, then chill out.

29.

Text - notrexhudler • 1h Not quite on point: A lot of people don't understand that co-signing a loan means that you are on the hook for the loan as much as the other person. The car gets repoed and then they are shocked that their wages are getting garnished. Co-signing is not you saying you think your friend is a cool dude who is good for it; you are saying you will pay for it if they don't. And they want you on the hook because they think there is a good chance the main applicant is a deadbeat

30.

Text - BeaversAndButtholes • 2h 1 Award The "legal limit" for BAC in drunk driving. There is no such thing. The common refrain you hear, especially from media outlets that have no idea what the fuck they're talking about, is that there's a 'legal limit' to the amount of alcohol you can safely have in your system and legally drive a car. No. Simply no. It doesn't exist. There is a statutorily established per se limit in every state. This means that if you are driving and your BAC is over that lim

31.

Text - dny6 • 1h Lots of people seem to think that private businesses have to respect your freedom of speech.

32.

Text - brevity_is_hard • 1h As a former lawyer (UK), I lost count of the amount of people that thought jaywalking was a crime. Unless it's a road that specifically states 'no pedestrians' or a motorway, no such offence exists here.

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