Let's be honest for a minute. Tons of old, legal statutes are pretty difficult to understand. They're written in a dialect of English known as Legalese, which uses complicated jargon stemming from Latin and often lacks punctuation. However, what makes these legal statutes most baffling is their seeming lack of legislative intent. Though they might have made sense in the past, the issues they were created to rectify are no longer problematic to our society, and so these archaic legal statutes remain on the books as quirky old relics. What's interesting about these laws is how governments deal with them. Some simply ignore them, some ... Read More >
May 28
Three of the Most Bizarre Driving Laws You’ll Ever Hear About
Did you know that in Russia it's illegal to have a dirty car? Or that in France, every driver must legally carry a personal breathalyzer in their vehicle? Or how about the fact that in Japan, you can get fined $65 if you accidentally splash a pedestrian as you drive through a puddle? Don't laugh too hard, though. The United States isn't entirely innocent of having weird driving laws. Here are just a few such odd legal statutes from across the nation. California The sunshine state's books are full of weird legal statutes. In Glendale, action heroes could face a fine for jumping out of cars speeding in excess of 65 miles per hour. In ... Read More >
May 27
Latest Legislation . . . and its past history: Assembly Bill 1576 of 2014, amending Labor Code §6319.3 and 6401.7 “California Condoms in Porn” Bill
Latest Legislation . . . and its past history: Assembly Bill 1576 of 2014, amending Labor Code §6319.3 and 6401.7 “California Condoms in Porn” Bill Assembly Bill 1576 authored by Assembly member Isadore Hall and known as “California’s condoms in porn” bill is making its way through the Legislature this session. This bill requires, among other items, that an adult film employer ensures “personal protective equipment” be used during the production of an adult film. Assembly Bill 1576 has been amended four times as of May 14, 2014 and currently proposes to amend Labor Code sections 6319.3 and 6401.7. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation ... Read More >
Apr 21
Three Kinds of Weird Laws Still on the Books
Legal statutes are products of their time and people, but as time marches on and people grow, some certain legal statutes start to seen rather... odd. Here are a few laws that at some point in time made sense, but now may need to be scratched off their respective books. Regarding Our Animal Friends In Alaska, it's illegal to push a live moose out of an airplane. Such a law seems to imply that at one point in time, Alaskans were really suffering from an absurd number of moose falling from the skies. In Illinois, there's a legal statute forbidding people from giving their dogs whiskey, which seems to imply a similar story. In Minnesota, a ... Read More >
Apr 16
California to hold special legislative session for “rainy day fund” amendment
Governor Jerry Brown called a special session of the state Legislature to replace the "Rainy Day Fund" on the November, 2014 ballot with a dedicated reserve to allow the state to pay down its debts and unfunded liabilities. In Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 ["ACA 4"], the 2010 Legislature approved the proposal for the November 2014 ballot to go before the general electorate. In calling for this special session, Governor Brown observed that the proposal did not address the volatility of capital gains revenue, did not provide a reserve for schools to help cushion future downturns, and constrained the state's ability to pay down long-term ... Read More >
Mar 19
Massachusetts High Court Ruling Shocks Public
What is legislative intent? Legislative intent, or the interpretation of legislation based on legal precedence and what is -- and isn't -- written in current laws, can make all the difference, especially in unique cases. The State of Massachusetts, for example, recently considered legislative intent to arrive at a controversial ruling. Massachusetts' Shocking Decision Massachusetts' high courts ruled on Wednesday, March 5th that a relatively new phenomenon, known as upskirt photography, is perfectly legal. Although the decision outraged many, the court upheld the ruling -- insisting that current legislation did not explicitly or ... Read More >